


All Nearness Pauses

by MauveCat



Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: Drama, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Gen, Grief/Mourning, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 51,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25393279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MauveCat/pseuds/MauveCat
Summary: After five long years, the Catalysts think they might have found a way to bring Taylor back.
Relationships: Craig Hsiao/Zahra Namazi, Diego Soto/Varyyn (Endless Summer), Estela Montoya/Main Character (Endless Summer), Grace Hall/Aleister Rourke, Quinn Kelly/Jake McKenzie, Sean Gayle/Michelle Nguyen
Comments: 23
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This picks up directly after the events of "Though the Stars Walk Backwards." In fact, there are a lot of callbacks to my Family Snapshots series and "Meanwhile, The World Goes On." I'm not saying that there'll be a quiz or anything but this story might make a little more sense if you've read those first.

_all nearness pauses, while a star can grow – e.e. cummings_

It was nearly morning. The sun hadn’t risen but the horizon was growing lighter and the jungle birds were waking up, their diverse cries rising from the nearby trees. Estela let the curtain fall as she turned away from the window.

Wearily brushing her hair back over her shoulders, she sat on her bed. She reached for the small cloth bundle she'd laid on her pillow; after a moment, she drew her hand back and sat there, trying to gather the courage to look at the crystals again.

After her conversation with Diego the previous night, they'd slipped back into the beach house. Her goal had been to make it to her bedroom without alerting the others to her presence; unfortunately, they hadn't counted on Craig coming back from the kitchen loaded down with corn chips and beer. Just as she was running out of reasons why she couldn't rejoin the party, Diego was at Craig’s side, steering him back toward the living room and allowing her to escape to the safety of her room.

Sleep hadn't come to her. Then again, she hadn't expected it to.

She'd laid awake all night, staring into the darkness and clutching the bundle to her chest. It seemed to vibrate slightly in her hands, pulsing weakly in time with her own heartbeat. Her mind raced wildly, going over what Diego had told her....

For five years, she and her friends had believed that all the crystals on La Huerta disappeared along with Vaanu. They disappeared along with... with Taylor. Vanished without a trace, as if they'd never existed.

Because Taylor had never existed.

Taylor was gone and had been for five years. The crystals were gone and had been for five years. Estela had been alone for five years, and she had been surrounded by friends – by family – for five years. Despite her pain and grief, she'd somehow been happier in those years than she had been since she was a little girl because of the love the remaining eleven of them had created among themselves. But now....

But now.

But now the sun was coming up, and there was no point in pretending to sleep any longer. The house was still largely silent; a few hours ago, she'd heard Reggie crying a few rooms away, but his whimpers had been soon replaced by Aleister's voice singing softly to his son. Now, from the other side of the house, she could hear movement in the kitchen and a faint, peculiar odor was making its way through the hallways. In spite of herself, she smiled. Yet another reunion tradition: Raj was preparing his customary hangover cure and if the past was any indication, most of them were going to need it this morning.

The sun was starting to peek through the curtains and Estela screwed her eyes tightly closed, sitting in silence for what seemed to be an eternity. She'd already seen the crystals by starlight. Maybe that was the best way to look at them? Dreams belonged in starlight and shadows and memories. Dreams belonged to the past.

Estela opened her eyes. It was morning. It was time to be strong, and it was time to face the truth.

She picked up the bundle. The material was a soft smoky blue, and it was silky and cool to her touch. It felt like the same material her wedding dress ( _Taylor's wedding dress, too_ ) had been made of. The Vaanti wove it from long fibers scraped from the inner layers of tree bark. A few years ago she'd asked Varyyn what it was called, and he'd pointed to a tall, slender tree with silvery green bark and turquoise leaves. _Mirralt_ , he'd said. Mirralt cloth was highly prized because the trees took so long to grow and the Vaanti only cut down a few every year. Fortunately, even though the resulting fabric felt no heavier than air, it seemed to be almost indestructible and clothing made from it could easily last generations –

With a deep breath, Estela tried to refocus; this wouldn't be any easier if she kept trying to distract herself. She carefully unfolded the cloth. The crystals hadn't changed overnight, but the colors seemed both deeper and more elusive than they'd seemed by starlight. The greenish-yellow one had streaks of blue along one side, and the violet one had a core of a deep reddish purple.

Hesitantly, she brushed a fingertip against the green crystal; she instinctively jerked away when it tingled against her skin. After a moment's internal debate, she sighed and folded the cloth around them again. She had no idea if whatever power rested in the crystals was finite, or if she would somehow drain them by handling them too often. She needed to show them to the others, Grace and Raj especially. If any of the Catalysts had a clue, it would be one of them.

During the long night, she'd been weighing how to start the conversation and who to approach first. Maybe Michelle, with her clear-eyed practicality? Or should she show them to Jake first – his natural skepticism might help her hone her argument. On the other hand, there was nothing Sean loved more than making a plan. But what if she didn't make her case alone? It might be a good idea to wake Diego and see if he had a better idea than she had of how to start; the two of them together could present a united front.

Surely... surely none of the Catalysts would doubt the two of them, not after everything they'd been through together.

Standing up, she quickly pulled on a pair of linen trousers and a dark green shirt. She bundled her hair into a loose knot at the nape of her neck, tucked the crystals into her pocket, and left her room. The kitchen was empty, but Raj's cure was simmering on the stove; more inviting was the row of coffee makers lined up on the counter, each one with a scrap of paper saying what the particular brew was. She found the strongest roast and poured herself a mug. She caught herself as she was adding a third spoonful of sugar. She hesitated, then smiled wryly as she added a fourth spoonful and stirred her coffee. She always craved sugar when she felt stressed, and what she was feeling now was so very far beyond simple stress.

Estela looked around the kitchen. Even if everyone else was still asleep, Raj had to be around somewhere. But where...? After a moment, she headed outside and followed her nose. Maybe it wasn't the sign she was hoping for, but she supposed she had to take what she could get.

She found Raj way behind the house, stretched out in a deck chair he'd pulled almost into the jungle. He waved at her through a cloud of smoke as she walked over to him. He was sipping from his own coffee and his dog Buddy trotted over to greet her. “Morning, dudelina,” he said as she approached. He lifted his pipe in greeting. “Al and Grace didn't say anything, but I don't think they want any of this getting near Reggie. I'm almost done here, but I can put it out if you want.”

“No, it's fine.” Estela sat down cross-legged on the ground next to him. Buddy put one paw on her leg and hesitated. “Come on, _bebe,_ ” Estela coaxed as she patted her thigh. “It's all right.” The dog hopped on her lap and immediately flopped over for a belly rub. “You're feeling much braver today, aren't you?” she crooned.

Raj grinned and tilted his straw hat to keep the morning sun out of his eyes. “That's because T’Kal hasn't shown up yet. I'm glad I brought her harness and leash – when we head out for Elyys'tel tomorrow, the last thing I want is for her to get spooked again and run off.” He looked at Estela shrewdly, but his voice was casual as he went on. “Got a big vat of my patented feel-better breakfast on the stove if you need any.” He readjusted his hat a little.

Estela smiled up at him. “If you pointed your chair the other direction, the sun wouldn't be in your eyes.”

“But it feels so _good_ on everything but my eyes,” he said as he wiggled his bare toes happily. They sat together for a while, drinking their coffee in silence. Finally, Raj glanced at her. “You ghosted pretty early last night. Diego took off for a while too – all he said when he got back was that you needed to be alone for a while. Everything okay?”

“As okay as it ever is,” she replied, carefully not looking at him. Buddy yawned and flipped over, and Estela began scratching the top of the dog's head. “Oh, you like that, huh?” She drained her coffee and looked up at Raj; he was tapping on his pipe and staring off into the distance, clearly waiting for her to make the next move.

Estela bit her lip and looked up at Raj's patient, unruffled face. She was going to have to start somewhere... steeling herself, she pulled the bundle out of her pocket. Raj followed her movement but his only reaction was a raised eyebrow. Her voice shaking a little, Estela said, “After... after the Celestial fell, we thought the crystals all disappeared. We were wrong.” Forcing past her reluctance to part with them, she handed the bundle to Raj. “Diego found these a few weeks ago. He... we think they might lead to a way to contact Taylor.”

His eyes widened as he unfolded the cloth. He picked up the violet crystal and Estela braced herself for his reaction... but it never came. He held it up to the sun. His voice hushed, he said, “Estela... what the _fuck_? You know what these look like, right?”

Her heart pounding, Estela stared at him. “You... you don't feel anything when you hold it?”

Raj shook his head as he sat up straighter. “No, it just feels like – wait. You _do_ feel something?”

She nodded. “It's sort of... I don't know, a weak electrical shock. Diego felt it too.”

Gingerly, Raj touched the other crystal; he shook his head after a moment. “Still nothing.” He weighed the crystals in the palm of his hand. “Are you sure these aren't just – you know, ordinary gemstones? There are a few deposits of something like tourmaline up north. A lot of Vaanti jewelry uses them.” Estela opened her mouth to argue, but Raj kept talking. “That wouldn't explain why you and Diego have a physical reaction to these, though, so let's toss that theory for now. Did Diego say where these came from?”

“He said it was a cave near Karaax'tel – do you know where that is?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “It's on the east side of La Huerta, isn't it? South of where Quarr'tel used to be, a few miles from the river delta.” His eyes narrowed. “The other side of the volcano. If these were found in a cave, the system – the whole island – could be geologically connected somehow, all leading back to where Vaanu crashed into Earth. I suppose it's possible there might be crystals scattered all through the island.”

Estela realized that she was trembling. “You believe me... just like that?”

“You're not exactly known for making things up – especially anything about....” After a moment, Raj sighed. “Grace and Al and I did a lot of talking about the crystals right after... right after. When he started going back and forth to La Huerta to start the clean-up, Al did a lot of looking; he said that there wasn't a trace of the crystals within a two-mile radius of the Celestial. We assumed that meant that all of the crystals disappeared with Vaanu.” He looked at her apologetically. “We should've kept searching.”

Burying her fingers in Buddy's soft brown fur for comfort, Estela shook her head. “We all thought the same thing. We believed everything was gone. But if there are crystals still here....” She couldn't go on.

She didn't have to. His face resolute, Raj carefully folded the cloth around the crystals and handed the bundle back to her. He stood up and extended a hand to her. “Let's start pounding on doors. A lot of us are at least a little hung over, but this can't wait.”

* * *

Craig held the crystals for a moment, face screwed up in concentration. After a few moments, he sighed and looked at Estela and Diego. “Nope, I don’t feel a thing either.” He leaned across the coffee table, the crystals cradled in the palm of his hand.

Estela carefully accepted them and laid the cloth on the table. “I guess that makes it official,” Diego said from his seat next to her. “They only seem to react to the two of us.”

Zahra scowled. “You're sure those things are safe? I can't be the only one who remembers what the Island's Heart did to Quinn.”

“Believe me, you're not.” Quinn was perched on the arm of Jake's chair, leaning against his shoulder. “But from what Taylor told me later, my reaction was... kind of noticeable. Either way, it's probably better if none of us handle them more than necessary.” Furball whined and hopped on the table, nudging the crystals with his nose; they crackled with a bright blue spark for a split second and the ice fox jumped back with a startled yelp. He jumped down and scurried over to Buddy, trying to take shelter behind the small dog.

Diego looked at Estela, his eyes wide. “Okay. Weirdness levels just increased by a _lot_.”

“All right, let's take stock of what we know.” Grace folded her hands tightly in her lap. “One, we believe these came from the same place. Two, Diego says he saw similar crystals in that same cave. Three, they only seem to spark reactions in Diego and Estela – and now Furball. Four, no one has seen similar crystals for the past five years; however, as a counterpoint, no one has specifically looked for any beyond the site of the Celestial.”

Aleister tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It might be useful if we analyzed them. Do you have any objections if I call my mother in to consult her?” he asked Estela.

She weighed the question, then said, “I think that might be a good idea. Do you know if she ever scanned the crystals that used to be here?”

“She's never mentioned it, but I think it's likely. If she had, we could at least verify that these crystals are of the same... origin.” At Estela's terse nod, he tapped his smartwatch. “Hello, Mother. We're on La Huerta, at the beach house – if it's not a bother, would you mind dropping in? We have a question you may be able to answer.”

A few seconds later, a smooth British voice replied. “Of course, dear. I have one task to finish up, but I'll be there shortly.”

Jake shook his head and grinned. “ 'If it's not a bother.' As much as I love her, I ain't nearly as polite with my mother.”

Quinn poked him. “Liar. I've seen you with her – it's 'yes ma'am' this, 'no ma'am' that.”

He looked up at her. “That's a southern thing, not a polite thing.”

Raising his hand, Sean chimed in. “Speaking as someone with family all the way from Florida to Alabama, he's right. Either way, though, considering that Aleister's mom is a scary-powerful AI? I think I'd be polite too.”

Michelle waved them silent. She leaned forward and looked closely at Estela and Diego. “Forget about all of that. Diego, you said that you found these a few weeks ago. I know you've been keeping them wrapped up but I'm still concerned. Have you noticed any sort of effects, even mild ones, while you've had them?”

“I haven't, but....” He looked around at the other Catalysts before going on. “Varyyn doesn't have the same physical reaction that Estela and I do, but he said the other day that he's been having some weird dreams ever since we brought those back to Elyys'tel.” He sighed and glanced at Estela but couldn't quite meet her eyes. “He's been dreaming about the Endless, and about Taylor.”

Estela stared at him. “You didn't say anything about that last night.”

“Because it took me all day to figure out how to tell you about the crystals – I didn't want to dump everything on you at once,” he said. He aimed his next words at the entire group. “I never told any of you this, but the same thing happened to him during the six months you guys were... well, vanished. He'd have dreams every now and then – he could never pin them down or describe them in any detail, but he knew he was somehow still linked to Taylor's mind. He never dreamed about the Endless before, though, so that's new.”

Trying to remain calm, Estela stared at the crystals. She swallowed hard. “Does that mean that Taylor is... is trying to communicate with him?”

Diego shrugged helplessly. “He doesn't know. _I_ don't know. For all we know, it could just be because Taylor's been on his mind these past few weeks. Maybe it's a coincidence.” He didn't sound as if he believed it.

Before anyone could add to that, the baby monitor next to Grace buzzed. She looked at it in surprise, then smiled. The screen shone blue and a moment later, IRIS materialized in the center of the room. She smiled at the group and said, “I hope I didn't keep you waiting, but I took a moment to say hello to Reggie. You said you needed my help with something?”

“It's good to see you, Mother,” Aleister said. He filled her in quickly and finished by saying, “So we were wondering if you had any data on the Island's Heart, or any of the other crystals.”

IRIS drifted to the coffee table and stared down at the crystals intently. “Oh, yes. Everett was fascinated by their molecular structure – it was remarkable, and entirely distinct from anything ever recorded. He had me analyze as many crystals as he could find.” Her eyes turned white for a moment; then, with a decisive nod, she said, “I've accessed the relevant files.”

Craig leaned over to Sean and whispered loudly, “That _always_ freaks me out.”

The hologram shot him a sweet smile. “My apologies, Craig. If it'll make you feel better, I'll try to be more discreet in the future. I'll gladly take a look at these new crystals. If you have one of my drones handy, I can do a basic scan right now rather than waiting to take them to a laboratory.”

“Oh... yes.” Aleister patted his pockets until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small round device and, pressing a button, he released it into the air.

“Thank you, dear.” IRIS vanished and the drone darted away to hover over the coffee table. It circled the crystals several times, running a thin beam of blue light over them from every angle. Unable to watch, Estela stood and began walking around the room, examining the framed photographs on the walls. Most of the pictures had been taken here on La Huerta – Michelle and Zahra sunning themselves on one of the speedboats while Quinn tiptoed behind them with a pail of sea water. Sean caught unawares as he taught a group of Vaanti children the finer points of an option play. Jake holding a flashlight between his teeth as he frowned at the engine of Aleister’s new boat – it was not a yacht, her brother insisted whenever the others teased him, but technically, it was indeed a yacht. There were other photos as well: here was a selfie Diego took to mark Varyyn’s first trip to the States, both men dripping with Mardi Gras beads. A picture of Reggie in the garden of Grace and Aleister’s new house in Battersea, staring in fascination at a handful of grass. Craig and Raj dressed up as the Blues Brothers. And here… Jake took this one on the day of Aleister and Grace’s wedding. Her brother had one arm around his new wife’s shoulders, his other arm holding his new sister close. All three of them looked so, so happy….

After a minute, the drone floated back to Aleister and dropped into his outstretched hand. Reappearing, IRIS looked seriously at the assembled group. “I have some preliminary results. I'd still like to bring them into a lab for a complete analysis, but in brief: these crystals share the same molecular framework as the crystals I analyzed previously, and it's a reasonable conclusion that they share a common source. They are unlike any other crystalline structures found elsewhere on Earth. It may also comfort you to know that they don't emit any harmful radiation. Is it a safe assumption that you'd like to know how many more crystals there might be on La Huerta?”

“Yes. We need to know.” Estela looked up from carefully placing the crystals in her pocket, and IRIS gave her a sympathetic nod.

“I understand, Estela. I'll be able to scan the entire island in a day or so. If you happen to have another drone handy, dear, that will speed the process considerably.”

“I might have a spare in my luggage. I'll be right back.”

Aleister started to get up, but Grace put a hand on his knee. “I've got this, honey.” She fiddled with her necklace and detached one of the large beads decorating it; it was a swirl of green and blue, overlaid with a delicate silver filigree. She smiled up at IRIS as she switched the drone on. “I figured if I was going to carry one around, it might as well be pretty.”

IRIS examined the drone approvingly. “I do so enjoy the way your mind works, Grace. Very well, then. If you're not here when I return, I'll assume that you'll have all gone on to Elyys'tel.”

“If our plans change, I'll let you know.”

“Thank you, Aleister, Give Reggie a kiss for me and tell him Granny will be back soon.” IRIS disappeared and the two drones shot off through different windows.

After a moment, Zahra leaned toward Grace. “Think you could make me one of those, only not as... cute?”

Grace grinned at her. “How about a chrome skull?”

“Sweet.” The two women exchanged a fist bump.

Her jaw set, Estela walked to the window. She stared outside, her arms folded tightly around herself. After a brief hesitation, Quinn walked over to join her. “We're going to figure this out,” she said quietly. Biting her lip, Estela kept silent.

“Sure we will!” Sean joined them at the window. “We've got IRIS searching the island and that's a good first step. Once she gets back, we can go over her results and decide what we do next. With all of us working together –”

“Don't.” Turning away abruptly, Estela began pacing. “Sean, I know you mean well but... don't. The last thing I want right now is a pep talk.”

“That ain't what Cap's doing.” Jake ran a hand through his hair. “Look, Katniss, none of us are gonna pretend that we know what you're feeling right now. Thing is, though, we don't have any idea where to start. We need information more'n anything. Once we got the memorial behind us –”

“There won't be a memorial. Not this year. Not when there's a chance....” Estela shook off the hand Quinn placed on her shoulder. Her voice rough, she went on. “I don't need memories right now.” Without another word, she stormed from the room; the front door slammed behind her.

Raj got to his feet. “I think maybe I'd better go after her,” he said uncertainly.

Diego removed his glasses and rubbed his hands over his eyes. “Give her a few minutes at least. She's going to need a little space right now.”

“Maybe.” Michelle looked around the room unhappily. “I don't feel good about this, but I think it would be better to postpone the memorial. It’s probably not a good idea to push Estela right now.”

“Meech is right.” Craig made a face. “Are we all on the same page or should we take a vote or something?” No one spoke. “So... is that a yes or a no?”

Leaning against his side, Zahra rubbed his shoulder. “For what it's worth, I'm sure not in the mood.”

Grace glanced at the baby monitor, then said, “I agree. If there's a chance that there's some way to reach Taylor, having a memorial for her feels... wrong.”

“And if it turns out that the crystals are a dead end....” Aleister trailed off.

“Then Estela is going to need a lot of support,” Diego finished his thought for him.

“She won't be the only one. How are you dealing with all of this, Petey?”

Diego tried to laugh. “Piece of cake. Sidekicks are used to this whole 'watching and waiting' kind of thing, right?” When he saw that no one else was smiling, he shrugged. “I... don't know what to make of any of this. As much as I want to believe that all of this means something, I'm not getting my hopes up yet.”

“Fair enough.” Raj blew out a heavy breath and flopped back down in his chair. “I guess it's unanimous – this isn't the right time for a memorial service. Do you think we should just hang out here for today and head for Elyys'tel tomorrow?” he asked Diego.

“That's probably the best plan. I think we all need some time to process this. Besides, I'm not sure if Varyyn's council meeting is wrapped up yet and it might not help matters if a bunch of Catalysts are breathing down their necks. I know that Mauri usually has his phone on him so I’ll call him later to update him.”

One by one, they all drifted out of the room until only Sean and Michelle were left. They stood staring at one another until, with a crooked smile, Sean said, “So. You come here often?”

Michelle shook her head and sank back into the couch. “This is the last thing I expected to happen this week. I don't think there's a single one of us who hasn't dreamed of bringing Taylor back but it was always just a dream. I _never_ thought there might actually be a chance.”

Sitting down on the other end of the couch, Sean said, “Me neither. I want it to be true but I'm with Diego – I'm almost afraid to start hoping.” He grimaced. “Lord, I don't even want to think about what Estela's going through right now. I was just starting to think she was ready to – hell, I almost said move on with her life but that's not going to happen. It's just that she was....” he trailed off.

“She was happy now and then.” Michelle laughed a little. “Remember Grace and Aleister's wedding? I was so thrilled when she actually called me and asked for advice on her hair. She adores Reggie and she's so excited about the new environmental projects she and Aleister are working on. Besides all of that, lately she's been calling some of us just to talk. I'm... really afraid of how she might react if nothing comes of this. How far back will this set her?”

“We all remember how she was before Taylor – getting revenge against Rourke was her entire life. What worries me is that she might – I don't know, she might slip back into that mindset again.”

Sighing, Michelle looked over at Sean. “We'll have to keep a close eye on her. The problem is, I'm not sure if we can do that without letting her know what we're doing, because you know she won't take it well.”

“Yeah, that'll be the hard part,” Sean agreed. He gave Michelle a sidelong look. “And... don't take this the wrong way, but I'm really glad Raj came pounding on my door before I had a chance to tell the others what we talked about last night. After what just happened, it's probably not a good time to make an announcement.”

Michelle's face colored slightly. “I... might have told Quinn already.” Her blush deepened when Sean started laughing but after a moment, she joined in. “She promised not to say anything until we give her the okay. And besides, we don't _really_ have anything to announce. We're just... going to start dating again.”

“Just to see where it goes. No pressure.”

“And no expectations. Right.”

“Right. I won't even tell my mom for now.” Michelle raised an eyebrow and Sean grinned. “Yeah, yeah. For the past five years she's been calling me every kind of fool for letting you get away in the first place. The truth is, I want to delay the 'I told you so' smirk as long as possible.”

“Nothing like a man with a healthy respect for his mother,” Michelle said as she got to her feet. “I don't know about you, but I need some kind of actual food. Just because I have to make do with coffee and toast back at the hospital doesn't mean that I don't appreciate a decent breakfast when I get the chance.”

“Now you're talking my language.”

* * *

Estela yanked the deck chair around so it was facing away from the house. She flopped down and scrubbed her hands over her eyes, willing herself not to cry. Of all the scenarios she’d run through her head last night, it never occurred to her that she would run from the room like a petulant teenager. The others must think she'd lost her mind.

Staring into the lush greenery, she tried to steady her breathing. Less than one day ago, she'd been content with her life. There were still so many sore, ragged spots in her heart but for the first time since losing Taylor... no, since her mother's death, she'd started to see a way forward. She had her Catalyst family and she'd even started to make friends outside of their close-knit circle. She had a career, of all things. And now, with no warning, two shiny little crystals had torn every last part of her life to shreds.

Estela heard approaching footsteps, but she didn't look around. “Hey.” Zahra came trudging through the sand. She stood in silence for a few moments. “If you think I’m going all the way back to the house to drag another chair out here, you’re nuts. Move your legs, willya?” Estela sighed and pulled her legs to her chest but kept her eyes straight ahead. “Thanks.”

Zahra sat down on the end of the chair. She reached up, took the pins from her hair and shook it out, then began twisting it back into a tight bun. She’d changed the color slightly since the last time Estela had seen her; it was still pitch black but she’d added streaks of dark blue and green. There was a small black tattoo behind her right ear, a second one beneath it. “Those are new, aren’t they?”

“Hmm? Oh, those. Yeah.” Zahra brushed her finger against the image of a stylized bird in flight, and then the bear beneath it. “There’s going to be eleven of them when I’m done, ending right about here.” She indicated her left shoulder blade. “And beneath them… well, I’m still working on a design for that.”

Eleven symbols, Estela thought. Eleven of them, leading down to… what? “Can I give you some advice? Don’t ask Craig to help you with the design.”

Zahra scoffed. “Please. Like I’d let Mr. ‘YOLO on my butt is a _great_ tattoo’ have a say.”

Resting her head against the cushion, Estela closed her eyes. She wasn’t entirely surprised that one of her friends came after her, considering the way she left them. “Are you here because you pulled the short straw?”

“Nah. Just felt like some fresh air before it gets too hot.”

“Really.” Estela didn’t bother to hide her disbelief.

“Hey, if you think you need a babysitter, I’ll be glad to go back inside and send Quinn out here instead. She’s in the kitchen doing some stress baking right now, though, so it might be a while.”

Estela finally opened her eyes. “Let me guess. Cupcakes?”

Zahra shook her head. “Nope. Chocolate-rum pound cake. According to her, the secret ingredient is a _lot_ of rum.”

That finally got a laugh out of Estela. “I’m starting to think Jake has been a bad influence on her.”

“You’re just noticing that now? They’ve been hooking up for a couple of year, after all.”

Estela shrugged. “Yes. Well, I’m not exactly in a position to give people advice on their personal lives. Besides, the casual approach seems to be working out for them.”

“I guess.” Zahra shifted so she was facing Estela. “So how do you want to handle this?”

“Handle what?”

“You really think I won't throw a shoe at you? You know damn well what.” Zahra held her hand out. “Let me see them for a sec.” Estela hesitated, then pulled the crystals out of her pocket. Zahra examined them apprehensively for a moment, then held the greenish-yellow one to the sun. Estela fought back the urge to snatch it back. “Don't know what I expected to see,” Zahra muttered. With a shake of her head, she handed the crystals to Estela. “I guess we can't really make any kind of a plan until we hear from IRIS, can we?”

Estela stared at the cloth bundle. “Zahra, do you have any idea how – how hard it is to not know?” Zahra was silent for so long that Estela was on the verge of reaching out for her; then the other woman sighed and nodded. When she saw that Zahra wasn't going to give her any other answer, Estela swallowed hard. “Even if we find dozens, _hundreds_ of these, what are we supposed to do with them? Just – pile them up and see what happens? Dance clockwise in a circle around them, set fire to them... _what_?”

“I hate to sound like Grace, but we need more information before we do anything. So. You wanna sit out here and have a staring contest with the trees until IRIS gets back, or you wanna come back inside with me? We've got lots of booze, and we'll have cake in a while. We've also got a bunch of people who want to smother you a little. That's not something I'd be interested in, but it can't hurt to indulge them now and then. It'll kill some time if nothing else.” Zahra stood up. “You coming or what?” She extended a hand.

“Are you looking for a second career as a motivational speaker?” But Estela allowed Zahra to pull her out of the chair.

“You've never been in a band. Half my time is spent bullying people out of creative funks. Did you hear that we lost our third bass player in two years? I'm about ready to see if Al and Grace can't rig me up a hologram version....”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two: in which plans are made.

The next morning, the Catalysts piled into two boats – Jake piloting one, Sean the other – and headed north along the coast to Elyys’tel. The ride was much more awkward than usual; there were a few aborted attempts at conversation but for the most part, none of them seemed to have the heart for their usual joking and reminiscing. Once they pulled into the fishing dock and met the first sentry on the beach, however, the mood began to lighten. Pausing only to hug Diego quickly, Anzhaal shot off to let the city know that their guests were near. By the time they reached the outskirts of Elyys’tel, many of the Vaanti had begun to gather and they were noisily ushered into the city.

A tall brown-haired man came out of the crowd. “Diego!” He fired off a string of rapid-fire Vaanti; when Diego answered, he grinned and, with a friendly salute, took off.

Sean pulled Diego aside as the group headed for the central square. “I only picked up a few English words in all of that. Is there something going on that we should know about?”

“What, you thought the Vaanti gave up their own language?” Diego grinned as he looked up from the two children hugging him. “They’re all basically bilingual by now – well, at least here in Elyys’tel. Things get a little shakier the further out you go – but you can’t expect them to speak English when you guys aren’t around. Anyway, Faranel’s in charge of the kitchens today. He said most of the feast won’t be ready until later, but anyone who wants a snack first should head on over. He’ll be happy to feed you. Hey! I didn’t mean you, Homani! ... yeah, Linaa, you might as well go with her,” he added as first one, then the other child shot away.

“And I think I’ll be right behind them.” Raj waved at a cluster of children, but they ignored him; to his amusement, they were entirely focused on the small dog prancing along at his side. Buddy appeared to sense their interest and she held her head up, tail wagging proudly. Furball leapt into Quinn’s arms and put his snout in the air.

“Aww, don’t worry. They still like you too.” Quinn rubbed the fox’s ears soothingly as she readjusted her hold on him.

Craig fell back until he was walking alongside Raj. “Is it just me or is Furball growing? He seems a lot bigger every time I see him,” he said quietly.

Raj shrugged. “I thought so too, but Quinn says she hasn’t noticed anything.”

“Zahra!” Taari, now six feet tall and with hair starting to darken to an adult Vaanti’s deep glossy green, dropped down from a branch almost two stories above their heads. “Look!”

“Damn, Taari, what the hell were you doing up there?”

The teenager grinned at her. “I am training to be a treewalker – my mother says I must practice if I expect to meet my goal. But _look_!”

Zahra pursed her lips and nodded admiringly at the brand-new tattoo the Vaanti teen showed her. “Niiiice. Your first one, right?”

Taari looked proudly at his shoulder. “It is the beginning of my warrior’s tattoo. I am starting with the webs of Spider-Man up here, and I want them to blend further down into the shapes of the ocean spirits, like Varyyn has.”

Grinning over at Diego, Jake said, “Let me guess. It was your idea, wasn’t it, Short Stuff?”

Diego shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. “Not really.”

“It was not his idea, but it for his sake,” Varyyn said as he made his way to the Catalysts. He put his arms around Diego; once he’d kissed his husband, he went on. “It seems that the next generation of Vaanti warriors all want to wear symbols from your stories. It is wonderful to see all of you. I assume that you have seen the crystals?” he added quietly, looking at Estela.

“We have,” she replied shortly.

“I see. Well, I believe I have some good news for you.” He raised his voice slightly. “I know you are all glad to see the Catalysts, my people, but stand back and let them breathe.” With laughter and promises of the feast to come at nightfall, the crowd began to fade away.

“It is about time you returned, Diego,” Mauri called as he approached the group, a tiny girl balanced on his hip. She was clutching a stuffed sloth in one hand and she wore a string of bright red Mardi Gras beads. “The little bird here has been asking for you ever since you left.”

Diego grinned as Mauri passed Xiraana to him. “Is that right?” The little girl started to answer; then, finding herself surrounded by strangers, she buried her face in Diego’s shoulder, her small green hands clutching his shirt. “These are my friends, sweetie. It’s all right – Jake was just here a few months ago and you met the rest of them last year. Do you remember when Raj gave you Slothy?”

Stepping forward, Grace said to Mauri, “Oh my goodness, she’s gotten so big! I bet she’s keeping you and Paravet busy.”

“She is.” Mauri bent down and kissed the top of his daughter’s head. “She is usually full of questions. Once she is less shy, you may grow tired of her chatter.” He smiled at the baby Grace carried in a sling against her chest. “You and Aleister will know soon enough what that is like. Little bird, do you want to meet the Catalysts’ baby? He is even smaller than you are.” Xiraana kept her head on Diego’s shoulder, but she turned her head slightly so she could peek out.

Grace shifted Reggie so he was facing outward; when she saw him, Xiraana’s eyes widened and she reached out a chubby hand. “This is Reggie,” Grace said as she stepped closer. The girl touched Reggie’s little ear with a cautious finger, then giggled when he blinked curiously at her.

Mauri looked at Varyyn. “Paravet is on patrol duty this afternoon. I will let her know the Catalysts are here. If you do not mind, I will leave Xiraana with you and Diego until we return.”

“Of course.” Varyyn looked at Aleister and Estela. “If you would like to discuss the items Diego and I found, we can all gather in our rooms. All of you are welcome, of course.”

Raj raised a hand. “Why don’t you guys go over it first, and the rest of us will meet up later? I don’t know about all of you, but I want to relax for a while after that ocean air and I think those kids over there want to meet Buddy.”

“Yeah!” Craig cheered. “And whatever they’re cooking in the kitchens, I want some.”

Varyyn nodded. “Very well. We will gather again before the feast begins.” As the others dispersed, he looked at those remaining. “For now, we can discuss this matter up in our chambers.”

Grace sighed. “I’ll be glad once we’re up there – that’s always a _lot_ of stairs.”

Aleister put an arm around Grace’s shoulders. “Courage, sweetheart.”

“I suggest you take the elevator, then.” Mauri grinned at Grace. “I think you will like the improvements I have made to it since your last visit,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.

“Now I _definitely_ don’t want to take the stairs.”

Leading them to the side of the Great Tree, Varyyn nodded at the elevator built into its side. “Mauri has been experimenting with the equipment you brought him last year. It took several months of… how shall I say this?”

“I think ‘disasters’ just about covers it,” Diego said helpfully. He looked at Xiraana, who was starting to squirm in his arms as she reached for Varyyn. “What, you want to be higher up? I guess it’s your turn, babe.”

“Yes. Many disasters. It is working very well now, though.” Varyyn swung Xiraana into the air and casually settled her on his shoulder.

Grace walked around the large box, standing on tiptoe as she tried to peer up at the top. “Oh, this is fascinating. The pulleys are hooked up to solar cells, I assume?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t go all the way to the top anymore, but it’ll get us to the level with the throne room without any problem.”

Once they were all in the elevator and standing against the side wall, Varyyn threw a lever and they smoothly ascended. Seeing Aleister’s expression, he said, “Mauri has been working on doors so we can enclose it on all sides. He also says that since he is now sure the solar cells are reliable, he will reconnect the pulleys leading to the top.”

“Wonderful,” Aleister said, looking only a little ill.

“Hey, Varyyn? She's doing it again,” Diego murmured as he glanced up.

“Yes, I know.” Varyyn reached up and gently pulled a feather from Xiraana's mouth. “I know it is very pretty, but please do not eat the elyyshar's crown, little bird. Some people might call that treason.” The elevator came to an easy stop and they stepped on to the large balcony in front of the throne room.

Walking through the empty chamber, Diego led the way to his and Varyyn’s private quarters. He nodded at a hammock chair suspended from the ceiling. “We can set the kids in there. Don't give me that look, Aleister. I swear it's secure – if it’ll support Varyyn, it sure won’t break with these two in it. Xiraana practically lives in this thing when she’s over here.” He rearranged the cushions and Varyyn swung the toddler down from his shoulder; she giggled as he placed her in the gently swaying chair. “Do you want to show Reggie how much fun it is? Scoot over to make sure the baby has plenty of room.”

Xiraana leaned over and tried to look around Diego. “Baby?” She widened her golden eyes hopefully.

Grace and Aleister exchanged a look. “Well, they say the chair is safe, right?” As she stepped forward, Grace took Reggie from his carrier and placed him carefully in the chair, making sure his head was supported. “Here you go, Xiraana,” she said. “Reggie is still very small, so you need to be gentle with him.” The little girl nodded solemnly. Reggie looked around until his eyes found Xiraana; she reached out and touched his hand. When the baby chortled and kicked his legs, she looked up in delight. Grace smiled back. “I think he likes you.”

“Baby _._ ” Leaning closer, she put her toy sloth in Reggie's lap and started talking to him. She looked up and, seeing that all the adults were watching, she lowered her voice and started whispering in his ear.

“I think she wants some privacy.” Aleister put an arm around Grace's waist and steered her back to the others.

Varyyn put down the bench he'd carried in from the balcony. “I hope this will be enough for when the others join us after the feast. If it is not, I suppose we can bring in more chairs from the throne room.” He sat down and extended his hand to Diego, who seated himself on the bench next to his husband.

Grace and Aleister sat down in nearby chairs but Estela remained standing. “Can we get this started? I know the drones returned to you a few hours ago and I want to hear what IRIS found.”

Aleister nodded patiently. “Of course.” He released a drone and IRIS appeared in the center of the room a moment later.

“Good afternoon, everyone.” She glanced at the chair. “Ah, how nice. I see that Reggie has made a friend already.” Turning away from the children, she faced the others. “I know you're all anxious, so I'll get right to it.” She waved a hand over the floor and a map of La Huerta took shape beneath them. “Let me just highlight the landmarks you're familiar with... and there we are. As you suspected, there are significant crystal deposits scattered throughout La Huerta.” Three new points appeared, glowing brightly. “I’ve identified these locations as being the most promising. The richest site is in the caves near Karaax'tel, as Diego and Varyyn indicated. There is also a deposit near the site of the observatory, as well as one approximately ten miles southeast of Elyys'tel. It’s much smaller than the others, with only a few dozen crystals, but it is also more accessible – the crystals are behind a waterfall near a small spring.”

“Yeah, I know just where that is.” Diego glanced up at Varyyn. “We’ve been there – I know there’s a sort of passageway behind the waterfall but I haven’t gone too far into it. I don’t know how far the Vaanti have explored that area.”

Varyyn nodded. “Oh, yes, we have explored it. I have been down the tunnels many times, but I never saw any crystals.”

IRIS enlarged the section with the waterfall, and the view shifted to a three-dimensional image traveling into the darkness. “They are behind a grouping of stalagmites, near the cave floor. If you were not looking for them specifically, I doubt you would have seen this cluster. I also found other spots throughout La Huerta with crystals, but they are either far underground, buried deep in the rock, or both. I believe you should concentrate your efforts on the three main sites. If you find that you need more, we can readjust the plan accordingly.”

Estela stared at the map as it reappeared at her feet. “How... how many crystals do you think there are?”

“It's difficult to arrive at an exact figure, of course.” IRIS drifted closer to her and pointed at the light marking the waterfall. “I did not examine the entire underground system, but I believe there are approximately sixty easily accessible crystals at this location. There are more but as I said, they would require much more effort to reach.”

“That many?” Grace breathed.

“I believe so, yes. I'll send a map to your smartwatch, Aleister, and one to Estela's phone as well.” Estela jumped as her phone vibrated in her pocket. “Grace, dear, would it be a bother for you to lend a drone to Estela? It would be the most efficient way to make sure she has the most accurate information possible and it will help me in mapping the tunnels.”

Grace was already detaching the drone from her necklace. “Of course. Here you are,” she said as she handed it over. “There are a few more in our luggage so I’ll dig them out for you before we leave. It’ll make things easier if IRIS can use more than one drone at a time.”

Aleister looked at Varyyn. “You said you had good news for us. Does that mean we have permission to start searching?”

“Yes, but I want you to be aware of why my people agreed.” He looked at Aleister and Estela with a trace of apology. “There was… some reluctance on the part of my council to grant your request. They remember well how your father treated the Vaanti and our homeland. They understand that you are nothing like the Hydra but still, it was a difficult negotiation. Fortunately, Seraxa anticipated the council’s hesitation. She had already come up with a plan to address their concerns, and we were able to convince them that the crystals are needed for a funeral rite for Taylor. We were never able to reclaim her body, after all, and we believe strongly in honoring our dead. However, there was one condition that they insisted you agree to -- the crystals are not to leave La Huerta for any reason.”

“I suppose that means we can’t take them to the mainland for testing, but I say that’s a small price to pay.” Grace turned to IRIS. “I didn’t have a chance to bring this up yesterday. We’ve been talking about the fluctuating magnetic fields. Do you think the crystals are playing a role in that?”

IRIS turned to face her. “I’m afraid I’m not yet sure. I started tracking the fluctuations several months ago. Since Diego and Varyyn only found those two crystals within the past few weeks, I’m not quite prepared to assign any sort of causal relationship.”

Varyyn leaned toward Diego. “What are these fields they speak of?”

Waving a hand vaguely at the sky, Diego said, “They’re… kind of like a shield up in space. You’ll have to ask Grace if you want better details than that.”

“Ah.” He turned to Aleister. “You also have a question, I believe.”

“Yes. Given that we’re not entirely sure of what we’re dealing with, I was wondering how much of this we should share with the Vaanti?”

“That is… a difficult question. Diego and I have, of course, shared everything with Paravet and Mauri, and since she sits on my council, Seraxa knows as well. That is how she was able to plan a story in advance to help convince the others. As for the rest of my people, I think perhaps it would be wiser for now to –the proper English expression is ‘hold our horses,’ I think.”

Estela stalked around the borders of the map. “If the largest concentration is around Karaax’tel, I think we should start there.”

“No.” Varyyn shook his head decisively. “The nearest crystals are only a few miles from here and that is where you should begin your search.” Estela turned on him but Varyyn kept speaking. “It is the closest site and, according to IRIS, the one with the easiest access to the crystals. It is also an area that Diego and I are familiar with. That will permit you to find the best method to retrieve them, as well as allowing the Vaanti to see that you do not intend to use them for any evil purpose.”

Estela stared at the map, fuming. As gently as possible, Grace said, “Varyyn is right. We don’t actually know what we’re doing yet and it makes sense to begin as simply as possible. Once we’ve retrieved this first batch, then we can move on to the other sites.”

For a few long moments, it seemed that Estela wanted to argue; instead, she gave Grace a tight nod. “Fine. I’ll do it your way.”

Aleister took a deep breath. “All right. What equipment do you think we’ll need, Mother?”

IRIS turned to him. “At this stage, you shouldn’t need any specialized tools, and certainly no heavy machinery. All the crystals I identified for you are near the surface so the most you’ll need are a few small picks or hammers. I would recommend gloves, however, especially for Diego and Estela; since you both described a physical reaction to the crystals, you should not handle them with your bare hands.”

“That’s probably a really good idea,” Diego said. “I don’t think they’re dangerous, but –”

“No. I’m doing this alone,” Estela snapped. “Since there are only a few crystals in this site, I won’t need any help. You can just relax and enjoy yourself here.”

“Hey!” Diego leaned forward. “What the hell? If you think –” Frowning, Varyyn placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. After a moment, Diego calmed himself and continued, “You don’t need to do this by yourself, Estela.”

Ignoring him, Estela turned to Aleister. “How many tools do we have back at the house?”

Aleister shot Diego an uncertain glance. “There are some heavy gloves in the shed but I don’t think we have much beyond basic gardening tools. Varyyn?”

The elyyshar nodded. “We have everything you will require, Estela. I will send word to have the necessary equipment brought to you.”

“Thank you.” Estela bit her lip. “Look, I don’t mean to sound – I’m sorry, all right? It’s just….”

Getting to her feet, Grace went to Estela’s side and put her arms around the taller woman. After a few awkward moments, Estela returned the embrace. “We know, sweetie. Your whole world has changed in just a few days. There’s no right way to react to something as – as unexpected as all of this. But you don’t have to shut us out, all right?”

“…All right.” Pulling away, Estela looked around the room, but she didn’t try to meet Diego’s eyes. “I… think I need a little time to myself.” She shrugged. “I haven’t slept much since I’ve arrived on La Huerta.”

“Of course. We’ve prepared your usual guest quarters, so you can rejoin us as soon as you’re rested,” Varyyn said. With a curt nod, Estela left the room.

Grace let out a heavy sigh and looked at the others in distress. “I wish we could do something for her.”

“I’m afraid this is a difficult situation for all of you, dear.” IRIS turned to her son as the projected map faded away. “I don’t believe I can be of any more immediate assistance here, Aleister. Even if they must remain on La Huerta, I think I collected enough data from the crystals to run some tests. I’ll be on my way for now – will you keep me updated on developments?”

“Of course, Mother. Thank you for helping us.” With a warm smile, IRIS vanished.

Grace sat down again and asked Varyyn, “I don’t suppose there’s some sort of… I don’t know, Vaanti legend or myth that might help us?”

Varyyn shook his head unhappily. “I am not aware of any. I was not the most attentive student, however – Uqzhaal’s lessons seldom held my interest. I know that I said I did not want to give away the full story to my people, but I suppose I could ask some of our elders.”

“Maybe I should do that.” Diego looked up at his husband with a crooked smile. “We don’t want people realizing that the elyyshar didn’t pay attention to his teacher – besides, everyone is used to me asking nosy questions by now. I might start with Paravet’s mother. She knows as many of the old legends as any of the Vaanti, and she… well, she thinks I’m adorable.” He frowned thoughtfully. “If the cover story is going to be that we need the crystals for some kind of funeral service, that’ll be a decent starting point. Maybe we’ll get a better idea of how to do this once we start digging – figuratively _and_ literally.”

“That’s a good point.” Grace sighed. “I suppose we should gather up Reggie – he’ll be hungry soon and I bet he’s ready for his nap.”

Varyyn inclined his head toward the hammock chair. “I think you are right.”

Grace looked over and laughed; Reggie was sound asleep and Xiraana was drowsing as well, each child holding one of the sloth’s arms. “I almost hate to separate them.”

“They can get together again when they’re both awake and anyway, Paravet and Mauri will be back soon to collect their kid,” Diego said.

“I suppose you’re right.” Moving carefully, Grace detached Reggie’s fingers from the toy sloth and lifted him to her shoulder. He never stirred but Xiraana whimpered in protest. Grace reached down to stroke her pale yellow-green hair and she whispered, “It’s all right. You’ll see him again soon.” She waited until the little girl’s eyes fluttered shut again before going back to Aleister. “I think we’d better make our escape while we can. We’re staying in our usual spot, right?”

“Yes. We will see you soon.” As they left the room, Varyyn listened for a moment and smiled. “Aleister is trying to convince Grace to take the stairs. I do not think he trusts our elevator.”

“He’ll feel better once that thing gets doors. For that matter, so will I.” Groaning, Diego stretched out his legs. “Man, it’s good to be home. It’s been a rough couple of days.”

Varyyn put an arm around Diego’s shoulders and pulled him close. “I can see that. Estela seems very distressed.”

“Makes sense.” Diego closed his eyes and leaned back against Varyyn’s chest. “I sure can’t blame her for that. I mean, I’d be a wreck if it was happening to me. It’s been awful, knowing that my best friend is zipping around the universe. Even if she’s just my imaginary best friend, I still miss her. It’s got to be so much worse for Estela.” He shuddered a little. “If I believed you were dead and gone for five years and then boom – a sliver of hope out of nowhere? And without any kind of a hint of how I was supposed to figure it all out? I’d be worse than a wreck.”

“As would I. Still, I do not like it when she speaks harshly to you.”

“I’m not crazy about it either. But like I said, I guess I understand why she’s acting that way.” He looked up at Varyyn. “I’m going to do my best to let it go. This isn’t exactly the right time to call her on it.”

Varyyn nodded reluctantly. “Very well, but only because it is your wish,”

“Thanks. Besides, I guess I could use a little time to try to figure out this memory thing I’ve got going on.” When he saw Varyyn’s concerned expression, Diego shrugged. “You remember years ago, when I told you that when I tried to remember Taylor the memories didn’t seem entirely real? Well, everything sharpened up once all of them came out of that weird time pocket they were in for six months. But... well, lately, it’s been happening again. When I think about Taylor, it’s like... it’s almost like there are all these images of her layered on top of each other and I can’t really bring her into focus.” He shrugged again. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m stressed out.”

Making a face, Varyyn said, “Then I suppose I must not complain that Estela wishes to do most of the work herself. It will allow you to puzzle this out. She intends to keep the crystals instead of you, I assume?”

“That’s a pretty safe bet. She doesn’t seem to want anyone else near them, at any rate.”

“I am glad.” When Diego looked up at him curiously, Varyyn hesitated before he spoke. “I must be honest. If they contain any danger, I do not want you near them. I am also… not eager to see if they continue to disturb my dreams. I have seen the Endless beckoning to me from a great distance... I do not like it.”

“Yeah, I know how much that bothered you. Did you sleep all right when I was gone?”

“The dreams did not return, but I never sleep well when you are gone, my love.”

Diego snorted. “Sweet-talker.”

“It is the truth, and you know it.” After glancing at the chair to make sure Xiraana was sleeping, he leaned closer and lowered his voice. “However, if you wish to keep me awake tonight, I probably will not mind.”

“Oh, really? Well, once we get the feast out of the way, maybe we can keep each other awake for a while....”

* * *

“What?” Michelle didn’t bother to keep the shock from her voice. “Estela, that’s insane. Of course we all want to stay on La Huerta and help you search!”

Estela kept her eyes on the floor. “I know you all want to help. But listen to me… it doesn’t make any sense for all of you to stay. We’re not even sure what we’re searching for yet,” she said heavily.

“Um... the crystals?” Craig looked around the room. “I thought we were looking for more crystals. Or did I miss something during the feast?”

“You didn’t miss anything, Drax.” Jake got up and began pacing the room. “Hate to break it to you, Katniss, but I kinda have a monopoly on the lone wolf schtick. None of us are leaving.”

Aleister tried and failed to catch Estela’s gaze. “I know that Jake hates it when I agree with him –”

“That’s right, Boss.”

“But he’s right. None of us are going to leave you.”

Sighing, Estela finally looked around the room. She saw nothing but concern in the faces surrounding her, and that almost undid her. She’d been hoping for anger. Anger was something she knew how to deal with. “None of you understand.”

“Can you explain it to us?” Grace asked gently. “What do you want us to understand?”

Estela leaned against the back of her chair, grateful for its solidity. “I’m not going to ask all of you to put your lives on hold when I have no idea how long this is going to take – _mierda,_ I don’t even know what ‘this’ is yet.” She looked around the room. “How much more time off do you think Edenbrook is going to give you, Michelle? I know that residents don’t get a lot of vacation days. Sean only has a month before he has to show up at his training camp, Raj needs to finish the next season of _Filling Bellies_ , Quinn’s foundation isn’t going to run itself –”

“It could if it had to,” Quinn said a little sulkily. Jake walked behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“For how long? Actual lives are counting on what you do.” Estela ran a hand through her hair. “I know you all want to stay and I… I love you for that. But for right now, at least, I really think it’s better if you get back to your lives.”

Zahra scowled at the floor. “So you expect us all to just go back home and pretend everything is normal?”

“Normal’s always been a long shot for you, Player One.” Craig’s grin faded under Zahra’s withering glare. “Sorry. But… I kinda think Estela’s right. Other than digging, there’s not a whole lot we can do here for the time being.”

Estela shot him a grateful smile. “Exactly. Look, I’m not exactly forbidding the rest of you from staying –”

“I am glad to hear that, because you do not have that right,” Varyyn interjected mildly. “But… since we are your friends, we will listen to your wishes on this matter.”

“Well, I hope you weren’t planning on kicking me off the island too,” Diego muttered.

Estela gave him an apologetic look. “No, of course not.”

Taking Diego’s hand, Varyyn said, “As I told you this morning, Estela, we can provide whatever equipment you require. We must also establish a secure location for the crystals you find and bring back. My first thought is to keep them underground. There are some unused spots far beneath the Great Tree that might suit your purpose.”

“Actually… I’ve been thinking that I might stay at the beach house instead of here in Elyys’tel, and I’d keep the crystals down there.” Diego let out a long breath and he stared at the ceiling, his face blank. Hurrying on, Estela said, “The crystals will be as secure there as anywhere else, right? There’s already a path leading to Elyys’tel and if it’s just me, it won’t take long to walk it. And according to the map IRIS sent me, it’s also much easier to get to Karaax’tel from the south than it is from here. There’s no river to cross, no jungle to hack through. It’s a clear walk along the coastline.”

“Can we go back to that ‘if it’s just me’ thing for a second?” Diego finally looked at her, and Estela swallowed hard at the hurt in his eyes. “You’ve really got your heart set on doing this without me.”

“Diego, you don’t understand,” Estela replied urgently. “Taylor is my wife and she’s somewhere … out there.” Estela gestured at a point somewhere between the ceiling and the window. “None of you understand what that’s like. Maybe these crystals will somehow let me bring her back, or at least help us communicate with her somehow. Until I know for sure that there’s hope – or that there isn’t – then yes, I think I do need to do this alone. And it’s not like I’m going to shut you out! I’ll be in and out of Elyys’tel and we can talk every day if you want, as long as you don’t forget to keep your phone on you,” she finished, trying to make a joke out of it.

Diego didn’t smile back, but after a few long moments, he gave Estela a tight nod. “Sure. We’ll do it your way.”

“Thank you.”

“…Yes. Well. I suppose that’s decided, then.” But Aleister didn’t sound at all sure of himself.

Raj looked at the solemn faces surrounding him. Then, clapping his hands, he stood up. “C’mon, doodlejumps, this is still our reunion and the party’s not over yet. We’re not going to spend all night talking, are we?” His eyes flickered to Diego for a moment before he looked at Varyyn; when he saw the Vaanti’s slight nod, he went on brightly. “So let’s haul our butts downstairs. Grace, I know that Reggie’s in good hands – maybe Seraxa will let you bring a fluffy pink kitten home with you – so now’s your chance to cut loose. And Diego, I need you to come with me.”

“I don’t know, Raj…”

“That’s okay, because I do.” Raj walked over, tucked a hand under Diego’s arm, and urged him to his feet. “Look, man, I don’t just need you, I _need_ you. Faranel spoke English perfectly until I started asking him for recipes. Don’t let me down, bro, my whole career could be riding on this.” He pulled the smaller man from the room, chattering about culinary horizons and television ratings and not giving Diego a chance to pull away. Following Raj’s lead, the rest of the Catalysts started trickling from the room; some of their cheerfulness was forced but they all seemed glad that the mood had lightened.

When they were the only ones left, Estela sighed and looked at Varyyn. “All right. Let me have it.”

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand her. He folded his hands and gave her a level stare; he was sitting in an ordinary chair, not his throne, but there was no mistaking the authority in his posture. In spite of that, he spoke much more gently than she expected. “You have been unkind to Diego several times since your arrival. But are acting out of grief, my friend, and you are speaking out of sorrow, and perhaps even out of fear. I know this, and my husband knows this, and you have not said or done anything that he cannot forgive.”

“I’m glad. I really didn’t mean to hurt him, you know.” Estela shook her head. “I should still apologize to him.”

“You should. You must also remember that he is in pain as well – it is not as great a pain as yours and he understands this, but it is still pain. Diego believes that Vaanu chose him to be Taylor’s friend from the beginning. For the rest of you, your feelings for her developed and grew as you spent time with her – yours most of all, Estela. But Diego….” Varyyn shook his head unhappily. “It seems that for reasons of its own, Vaanu gave my husband memories and feelings and an unshakable certainty that Taylor was his best friend. He… has struggled with the reasoning behind that choice.”

“I didn’t realize that was bothering him,” Estela said in a soft voice.

Varyyn shrugged. “He does not speak of it often – rarely with me and, to my knowledge, never with any of the other Catalysts.” He gave Estela a sharp glance. “You do not seem surprised by what I have told you. Has this bothered you as well?”

She opened her mouth to deny it; instead, she nodded. After a moment, she said, “It’s... hard. I don’t have anything left of Taylor except memories. But Diego – from the beginning, he was at Taylor’s side and he was the one she turned to. I think there was always some part of her that came from him.” She blinked away tears and forced the next words out. “God, I hate feeling this way but I’m jealous of Diego. I always have been, and I _hate_ it. It’s because Taylor belongs to him as much as she belongs to me, and there just isn’t much of her to share. I hate resenting that there’s some part of her that belongs only to him, and I hate myself for feeling that way. I keep on catching myself snapping at him and it’s almost like – like I’m looking for excuses to be angry.”

“Estela....” Varyyn leaned forward. “None of us can ever belong to one person alone. Diego has the whole of my heart, as he has mine. But there have always been others with a piece of my heart as well. Mauri has a piece, and Paravet. As small as she is, Xiraana has a very large piece. And Diego... parts of his heart will always belong to his family, no matter how difficult their relationship has always been. I also know how much love he has for his friends – and yes, for you. That has never made me doubt his love for me, and you must never doubt Taylor’s love for you.” Unable to answer, Estela nodded. Standing, Varyyn extended his hand. “Now. Enough tears for tonight, my friend. We will take pleasure with our friends and our family, and we will begin again tomorrow with the sunrise.” He smiled. “Thanks to Taylor, the next sunrise is something we can all be sure of.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which friends are parted, and new complications arise.

After spending a few days in Elyys’tel, the Catalysts were back at the beach house preparing to leave La Huerta. After a frantic morning of packing and cleaning before their departure, they loaded up the speedboats again and went north along the beach to the airfield. As she walked around the beach with Zahra, Craig, and Michelle, Quinn looked around and called, “Furball? Hey, sweetie, where’d you go?” She looked around anxiously the airfield. “I swear I just saw him. We can’t leave until he’s on board.”

“Typical. The stupid fox takes off and it’s ‘oh no, where’s my sweet baby,’ But when _I_ want another ten minutes on snooze – ten damn minutes, is that really so much to ask? – it’s ‘come on, Z, we’ve got to get to the plane, we’ll leave you behind if you don’t get up’ and Scrublord here yanks me out of bed and throws me in the shower.” But Zahra joined the others in carefully scanning the terrain surrounding the airfield. 

“I didn’t throw you! It was more of a… gentle dump. And it’s not like I didn’t keep you company.” Craig waggled his eyebrows at Zahra.

“Craig.”

“Yeah, Meech?”

“Never do… _that…_ again,” Michelle said as she gestured to her forehead. “At least not when I’m around.” Sighing, she walked over to join Diego and Jake at the hangar. “I still can’t believe Estela isn’t seeing us off.”

His voice neutral, Diego said, “At least she came down from Elyys’tel with us yesterday.”

“And she left again before the sun was even up.” Jake closed a panel and wiped his hands on a greasy cloth. “You sure she’s going to be okay wandering around the jungle by herself?”

Diego shrugged. “Technically, she won’t be by herself for long – Anzhaal said he’d meet up with her and show her the waterfall where the first batch of crystals are. If she runs into any trouble, I made sure she has Mauri’s number in her phone in case she can’t reach me.”

“Good idea, kid. Still say she shouldn’t be doin’ this by herself, though. You and Papa Smurf could have shown her the way just as easy as anyone else.”

“Sure.” Diego gave his friends a half-smile. “But she didn’t ask us.”

“Ahhh, Petey. C’mere.” Jake pulled Diego close for a rough hug. “I know everyone else has said the same thing already, but give her time. She had a ten-ton weight dropped on her without warning and she’s tryin’ to figure it out. She’ll come around.”

“Thanks, Jake.” After a moment, Diego asked Michelle, “His hands are still greasy, aren’t they?”

Michelle looked at Diego’s back. “They’re… not _too_ bad.”

Grinning, Jake let go. “Well, ain’t you the fussy one. At any rate, the plane’s ready. Now all we need is the rest of our luggage and for Red to find her pet popsicle.”

Michelle looked up. “We’ve got the luggage, at least,” she said as Sean and Varyyn approached with the last of the bags. “Hey.” She walked over to Sean and smiled up at him.

“Shall we put these inside the plane?”

Sean thought about it, then shook his head. “Nah. We got everything this far, I think we’ll let everyone stash their stuff where they want.”

“Very well.” Varyyn lowered the bags he was carrying to the ground and went to Diego’s side. “We believe that is the last of it.”

Sean looked down at Michelle. “You still pack like you never expect to see your home again. Was that one bag really full of nothing but shoes?”

“You read the label, didn’t you?” she answered teasingly.

“Yeah. I also can’t believe you still label all your luggage with what’s inside.”

She stepped closer and smiled up at him. “Well, we don’t all have photographic memories, now, do we?”

“Mm. Good point.”

Jake looked between them, then at Quinn as she walked over. “Is there something going on there?”

“Hmm? Oh… um, no,” Quinn said unconvincingly. She kept her eyes on the jungle, a frown creasing her forehead. “I’m really starting to worry about Furball.”

Jake put an arm around her waist. “He’s still got time to turn up. Besides, if he misses the plane, he can keep Estela and these two company until my next flight down.”

“And I’m ready whenever you guys are.” Raj held up an earthenware flask, beaming. “Faranel finally came around and gave me a couple of his recipes – I won’t be able to recreate them exactly, but I’ve got some ideas for substitute ingredients – and he even gave me a going-away present. I thought we could crack this open on the plane.” Varyyn and Diego exchanged a knowing look. “What’s that about? You don’t think he’s trying to poison me or something?”

“The next best thing, maybe,” Diego muttered darkly.

Varyyn reached out a hand. “May I?” Raj handed him the bottle; after pulling the stopper and sniffing the contents, he nodded at Diego. “As we thought.” He handed the bottle back and said, “I would suggest waiting until you land before you sample this. You should definitely not give any to Jake while he is flying.”

“Well, now I’m curious.” Jake snatched the bottle and took a whiff. “Smells like brandy. Not the cheap kind, either.”

Diego nodded. “It’s pretty similar. It’s called krall – it’s made from some berries that grow on the other side of the volcano. Faranel is the best distiller on the island so on one hand, giving you that bottle means he likes you.” Raj’s grin widened. “On the other hand, that stuff is _lethal._ The Vaanti are pretty careful with it. Me, I was basically comatose for a week after my first time drinking it.”

“You are exaggerating, my love. You were awake by the next evening.”

“But when I _did_ wake up….” Diego made a face. “Ten times worse than any tequila hangover I ever had. In fact, it was worse than the night I mixed tequila and Everclear. Take my advice and mix it with some kind of juice or soda, and go easy on it. Paravet told me later that I made the mistake of drinking it straight.”

“Cool.” Zahra eyed the bottle appraisingly. “I don’t suppose we have time to run back and grab some more, do we?”

“Next time,” Grace said firmly. Ignoring the tongue Zahra stuck out at her, she readjusted Reggie’s sun hat and turned to Aleister. “I couldn’t find his pacifier – do you have it?”

Aleister patted his pocket. “Right here. It didn’t do our poor boy much good during the other flights, but it can’t hurt to have it handy.”

“Oh! There he is!” Quinn’s face flooded with relief as Furball came out of the jungle and sat down. She jogged over to him and knelt next to him.

“Glad that’s settled.” Jake turned to Aleister and Grace. “I don’t think we’ll need to refuel, but I’m still planning for a quick stop at Cozumel. The new fuel cells you’ve been working on got us down here fine and they’re still a little over half full. All the same, I ain’t eager to find out I’m wrong and we all go down over the Gulf. I’d rather stop halfway home and double-check our levels.”

“Good idea.” Aleister nodded thoughtfully. “A few more test flights, and I think we might be ready to go public with them. They’re certainly working well enough in the speedboats, and we’re ready to install them on our new boat the next time we can spend more than a few days in New Orleans. You’re still set on releasing the design to the scientific community at large, aren’t you, darling?” he asked Grace.

“Oh, yes,” she said as she jiggled their restless son. “It’s not like we need the money from the patent. My mother will have a fit when she learns I’m forgoing the profits, of course, but I’m getting used to that. And besides, it’ll do far more good for everyone to have more fuel-efficient options.”

“That may be but I know a couple oil execs who’ll be using your picture for a dartboard, Brainiac.” Jake’s face grew serious when he saw Quinn come back alone. He looked at the trees just in time to see a flash of blue disappear into the undergrowth. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Quinn said mournfully. “I… I’m not sure why, but I think he’s staying here.”

“Ah.” Varyyn gave her a sympathetic nod. “I have been wondering when his time would come.”

“Huh?”

Turning to Jake, Varyyn said, “I am sure you remember the Mountain Guardian’s attitude toward Furball when they first met, and we speculated that she saw him as one of his own kind.” He looked kindly at Quinn. “Do not be sad, my friend. Furball is merely growing into his destined role.”

“Literally,” a mutter came from the back of the group.

“Not the right time, Z,” Craig whispered.

Sighing, Quinn finally looked away from where she’d last seen the ice fox. “I know. I guess… maybe I was starting to hope he wanted to stay with me.”

Jake kissed the side of her head. “I’m pretty sure he did, Red. Why don’t you ride up front with me so you can talk through it?”

“Then… I guess this is all of us for now.” Shifting Reggie to one arm, Grace hugged first Diego, and then Varyyn. “If you wouldn’t mind heading back to the house before you go home, there’s a little something for Xiraana back there that I forgot to bring to Elyys’tel – it’s a set of building blocks. You can tell her it’s a present from Reggie. I think she’ll like that.” One by one, they said their goodbyes and got on the airplane. Diego and Varyyn stood together and watched as their friends disappeared into the distance.

* * *

  
  


The mood in the plane was somber, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Reggie had finally settled down for a nap and his parents were seated in the back of the plane, heads together as they spoke in hushed voices. 

Leaning her head against the back of her seat, Zahra looked over at Craig’s laptop. “Can’t believe you’re back to work already. I’m starting to feel like a neglected housewife or something.”

Craig gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “A hot, sexy neglected housewife.”

“I think I saw that movie, actually. There was a cable guy _and_ a pizza guy. What are we looking at?”

Craig tilted the laptop so she could see the screen better. “ ’Fraid there’s no pizza guy in this one. It’s for that pirate game we’re developing – I figured I better do some research that I can pass on to the rest of the team.”

“So when you get something right, you can blame the research rather than the fact that you met a real-life pirate.”

“Aw, you really do get me.” Craig beamed at her. “I found a couple decent websites and one of them had a link to a series I want to check out. It’s about a bunch of treasure hunters who go around the world looking for lost gold – the most recent episode is supposed to be about pirates. Got it downloaded and ready to go if you want to watch it with me.” He was already pulling out a second set of headphones.

“Why not? It’ll kill some time until Cozumel, at least.”

A few rows ahead, Sean leaned over to Michelle. “I’m pretty sure Raj is staring at us.”

“Yep, I sure am.” Raj stared from one to the other with a benevolent smile. At his feet, Buddy sat watching them all with her tail thumping gently. “Couldn’t help noticing that you guys were holding hands during takeoff.”

“I was nervous!” Michelle and Sean replied in unison.

“Either one of you could have come over to this side of the aisle and held my hand. Maybe _I_ was nervous too.”

Michelle laughed. “Riiight. I’ve never once seen you nervous about anything, Raj. Scared, yes. Angry, yes. Nervous? Never.”

“That’s a good point. Do you want me to ignore you now?”

“We’d appreciate it,” Sean said. Already reclining his seat, Raj slipped on a sleeping mask and stretched out, still smiling. Buddy jumped onto the seat next to him and curled up for a nap of her own. Sean turned to Michelle and whispered, “Between him and Quinn, the whole group will have us hitched by the time we get off the plane.”

“Quinn....” Michelle’s face fell. “She’s really going to miss Furball. I’m going to miss him too – living in the same city, I saw him all the time. Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice he was growing.”

“Yeah.” Sean nodded in agreement. “I thought he was getting bigger last year, and then when I saw you at Christmas, I was pretty sure he’d grown again. But this year? No way to deny it. Quinn told me once that he weighed about fifteen pounds when they got to Boston. Well, Buddy weighs a little shy of twenty pounds according to Raj, and Furball was definitely a lot bigger than her when they sat next to each other.”

Michelle frowned and lowered her voice even more. “Do you think it’s somehow connected to the crystals?”

“Maybe,” Sean said uncertainly. “But he’s been growing for a while and the crystals just turned up.”

“No, Diego and Varyyn _found_ the first ones a few weeks ago but it looks like they’ve been there all along. We just weren’t looking for them.” She sighed. “But then, why wouldn’t Furball have been growing all along?”

Reaching over, Sean took her hand again. “I know you’re a multi-tasker but I think maybe we should concentrate on one mystery at a time.”

“Maybe you’re right, but –”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

They both looked around at Craig’s outburst. “Don’t tell me he knows too,” Sean muttered.

“I don’t think that’s what he’s talking about. At least I hope it isn’t.” Raising her voice a little, Michelle looked behind her. “Everything okay back there?”

“No,” Zahra growled. “There’s no _way_ that’s a coincidence.” She waved at the back of the plane. “Gather ‘round, people. Looks like we got ourselves a shiny new crisis.”

Shoving his sleep mask to the top of his head, Raj followed Sean and Michelle to the middle of the plane. “What’s up?”

Zahra reached up to hit the intercom button. “You and Quinn might want to listen in, Jake. In fact, send Quinn back here – there’s something she should look at. I think we have a problem.”

“What, again?” Jake’s voice crackled through the speakers. “She’s on her way.”

Yanking off his headphones, Craig looked around unhappily. “This web series I’m watching on treasure hunters? Well, they’re saying they found Malatesta’s boat.”

“You’re joking.” Aleister sat down in the seat across from Zahra, Grace leaning against the back.

“Nope. They got a tip to look at a spot east of Providencia –”

Grace frowned. “Which is dangerously close to La Huerta, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Right. And they found a wreck down there.”

“Did I hear you right? They found the Dorado?” Quinn asked as she came down the aisle.

Zahra nodded. “They say they did.” Angling the laptop so the others could see, she clicked back a few minutes. “They sent down cameras and got some recordings of the wreck. Does it look familiar, Quinn?”

Leaning closer, Quinn peered at the screen and nodded slowly. “It could be... that sure looks like the railing around the top deck. Malatesta was proud of it. He had the best workmen in Penzance do it for him, he said.”

“Interesting, but I ain’t sure that makes it a problem.”

Craig ran a hand over his hair. “It’s more than that, Jake. They’re trying to sound all mysterious about their tipster.”

Michelle sighed. “And after all these years, I know who _I_ think of when I hear the phrase ‘mysterious tipster.’”

“Langenfelt.” Zahra scowled at the laptop. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck, fuckity fuck _fuck._ ”

“Language, please,” Aleister said absently. “I thought she’d given up on pestering us.”

“Apparently not,” Grace said.

Zahra tugged fretfully at her long braid. “I thought I was giving her enough to worry about. False trails leading down to Rio, a little fake identity theft here and there to distract her, I even messed with her car’s electrical system to keep her in and out of the shop constantly.” She glanced up at Aleister. “That one was your mom’s idea.”

“It does sound like her.”

Blowing out her cheeks, Zahra opened another tab. “Here’s the publicity material for the episode. Apparently it’s a well-known fact that the Dorado went down in a storm while he was sailing from Jamaica to Providencia?” She looked up at Quinn questioningly.

She nodded. “Malatesta had a base there – he always said it was the best place to hide treasure. Yvonne preferred going the other direction, to Barbados.”

“Fascinating. Anyway, like Grace said, La Huerta isn’t too far from the line between Jamaica to Providencia. It’s not hard to believe that Malatesta might have been making an unscheduled side trip back to La Huerta – or hell, if it was a storm he could have just been blown off-course. Anyway. Their tipster told them to look around and that there was, quote, a secret island base with untold riches to the east, unquote, and they should start at Providencia and work their way out.”

“Great,” Sean groaned. “How likely is it that they’ll end up in La Huerta?”

“They can’t get too close. Could you call up a map of the region, Zahra?” Aleister leaned across the aisle.” If you zoom in on La Huerta, you’ll notice that there’s a buffer zone around it. My father was a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol.” Seeing the blank faces around him, he smiled faintly. “In its most basic terms, it’s a treaty that ensures the protection of environmentally sensitive regions in the Caribbean. It’s not ordinarily something the owner of a private island would be involved in, but....” He shrugged eloquently. “When you have as much money as he did, certain doors are opened. His intention was to keep outsiders from getting close enough to discover any of his, or La Huerta’s, secrets. However, the ongoing benefit to us is... well, it keeps outsiders from getting close enough to discover any of our secrets. There was talk of ending the agreement after his trial, but Estela and I chose to emphasize the need to protect the fragility of the ecosystem. Once we demonstrated our intentions by dismantling the hotel and all the scientific facilities, the governing bodies were willing to maintain La Huerta’s status. Unauthorized vessels aren’t supposed to get closer than twelve miles. Since that begins at the reefs surrounding the islands, though, there’s a considerable margin for safety. If anyone wants to explore the region, they’ll need to go through quite a bit of red tape and put together a thorough proposal before it arrived on my or Estela’s desk, at which point we’ll wait a week or so before we regretfully deny the request.”

Raj shook his head. “Wait a minute. Since when is a ‘keep out’ sign all it takes to keep anyone out?”

“Actually....” Aleister colored slightly. “My mother is keeping an eye on things. She’s tuned in to the satellites covering the region and she’s alerted if any boats get too close. If they continue on their path, they seem to have mysterious engine failures. She’s also, um, editing any satellite images that are transmitted to other facilities. She did the same thing while my father controlled her, and she says it’s probably the only one of his decisions that she agrees with.”

“So you’re saying that’s why Elyys’tel doesn’t show up on Google maps?” Michelle asked.

“Exactly.”

“Thank you, Captain Exposition,” Zahra drawled. “Do you mind if we get back to our current problem? Craiggers?”

“Yeah. So they found this wreck and they pulled up a chest with all kinds of loot. They took it to a pirate museum in the Florida Keys, but....” He scrolled down. “Believe it or not, Malatesta’s got his own museum in London and they say _they_ want anything that’s brought up. There’s a big court fight building up and our treasure hunters are playing it up for the publicity. Until that’s settled, they’ve got everything in storage.”

Grace frowned at Aleister. “If the Malatesta museum is in London, maybe we could check it out. Does that article say where it is?”

Craig looked at the screen. “Near the Royal Observatory. Does that mean anything to you guys?”

Nodding, Aleister said, “Close to Greenwich, then – not all that far from us now that we’re in Battersea. At least we’re on the right side of the river. It would be easy for us to drive over and see what they have.”

Hesitantly, Quinn looked at the others. “Actually, since Jake and I are flying you back to London... maybe I could go to the museum? I... think I’d like to take a look at it.”

“I’m not much of a museum guy but I’ll check it out with you, Red.”

Sean sighed and sat down. He looked at Zahra and asked, “You really think Langenfelt is behind the tip these guys got?”

“Wouldn’t be a bit surprised. Remember when we figured out she sent that reporter to talk to your brother?” Sean grimaced. “And Jake’s fake lawyer, and that influencer chick who showed up with Raj’s film crew in Mumbai, and the idiot who keeps trying to start Twitter fights with Diego? Which is actually pretty hilarious, since Diego doesn’t do any kind of social media. His agent isn’t sure if he hates him for it, or if he’s grateful to have a client he doesn’t have to clean up after.”

“Is all this really because she’s still pissed that she got canned?” Craig leaned around Zahra. “What exactly did she do for you guys anyway, Al?”

He shrugged. “She was in marketing and public relations. She was developing a program that would utilize AIs to steer public opinion, both for our company and whatever other corporations might want to buy the technology.”

“Like a chatbot? Nothing new about that. Hell, I thought every company was using them these days,” Jake said.

Zahra shook her head. “If the program had actually gone live, try to imagine a chatbot on steroids. I saw the research materials – she was using the same tech that Rourke built to create IRIS. If Langenfelt’s project hadn’t been killed, it would have made deepfakes look – well, fake. You’d think you were video chatting with a live representative but it’d be a hologram.”

Aleister nodded. “Exactly. The stated purpose was to streamline customer service and influence consumer trends but her later reports were starting to hint that there might be certain... governmental applications. My father thought it was a wonderful idea and he gave her a huge budget. As I’m sure none of you are surprised to hear, neither Estela nor I wanted to be associated with anything along those lines, so we ended her program. She was offered the option of being transferred to another department with the understanding that she was not to continue her research, or she could take early retirement with an exceptionally generous benefit package.”

“Yeah. I looked into her financials – it was generous even by rich guy standards,” Zahra said. “Besides that cash, she comes from what passes for high society in Minnesota and she inherited a lot of money when her parents died. She doesn’t have to work anymore – and she doesn’t – so it looks like she’s dedicated her life to proving that Everett Rourke is a maligned genius who was framed and kicked out by his ungrateful children, yada yada yada. She’s dying to know what happened on La Huerta so she’s trying to chip away at us because she’s sure one of us will break sooner or later. The first thing she did was sue to get her hands back on her research but it was all proprietary RI tech, so the courts turned her down flat. Next she tried to contact every media outlet she could, but it didn’t take long for them to write her off as a crank. After that she started her own blog but that tanked too – she can’t write worth a damn and she wasn’t any better at vlogging. No camera presence. She tried getting some of the Celestial guests on her side but that ended just about as well as you’d imagine – none of them had a kind word to say for Rourke after he stuck them in those tubes. It was a good move to pay all their medical bills on top of the compensation settlements, Al.”

“That isn’t why we did it,” Aleister said defensively. Grace patted his shoulder.

“We know. It was still really good strategy.” Putting the laptop to sleep, Zahra looked at her friends. “I was starting to think she was giving up, but it looks like I was wrong. Sorry.” Craig put his arm around her and pulled her close. “She moved to Boston a few years ago to try to keep tabs on us, since a couple of us are in the area. At least it made it easier for me to monitor what she was up to. I... might have hacked into her personal email a few times. She has a cousin who was really worried about her and kept trying to get her to go to therapy. It started to look like she was starting to agree so... I guess I got sloppy and lost track of her. Looks like I’ll have to go back to keeping a closer eye on things.”

“It’s not your job to look after us, Zahra,” Michelle said softly. Frowning at the black screen, Zahra shrugged.

Sean looked around. “Okay, I know that Estela said she didn’t want us helping her search – which I still have a problem with, by the way – but now I’m even more uncomfortable leaving her and Diego on La Huerta by themselves. I think aside from calling them as often as possible, we ought to… I don’t know, drop in.”

“And make it look like a casual visit?” Quinn asked with a raised eyebrow. “Like we were just in the neighborhood?”

The speaker from the pilot’s cabin crackled again. “I can do casual,” Jake said. “And besides, Malfoy’s docking his yacht in New Orleans for now.”

“It’s not a yacht,” Aleister said automatically.

“Whatever, boss. Cap knows how to steer it so if some of you want to head down on your own, I’m sure he won’t have a problem with it.”

“No problem at all. I’ll leave word at the marina that you’re authorized to take it out whenever you like, Sean. If you feel like it, several of you could cruise down.”

“See how easy that was?” Jake said. “Now for the next order of business. Remember how I said we were stopping in Cozumel so I could check the fuel cells? Well, I’m glad you all have your passports on you because I’m changing the flight plan. After all of that, I think we deserve an overnight stay at some fancy-schmancy hotel – if my filthy rich bosses agree to pick up the tab, that is.”

Grace laughed and kissed Aleister’s cheek. “Your filthy rich bosses think it’s a wonderful idea. It’ll give us a chance to talk about how we’re going to handle this latest development, besides stretching out our reunion a little bit longer. Right, honey?”

Aleister smiled up at her. “I couldn’t agree more.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which various Catalysts go to museums... with slightly different intentions.

“Here we are.” Quinn’s steps slowed as she and Jake approached an imposing red brick Georgian house. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and stared up at the open door, not quite ready to enter. The sound of shouting children came from inside but there were only a few people entering or leaving the Malatesta museum. “Look, a plaque!” she exclaimed. Her enthusiasm rang false in her own ears.

Jake snorted, clearly not deceived by the delaying tactic. “And we’re gonna read it, aren’t we? Man, I hate museums.” But he followed her over to the bronze sign posted at the bottom of the stairs. He read through it and raised an eyebrow. “A diplomat wrote this – ‘built on the site of Malatesta’s childhood home with the proceeds of his seafaring career.’ Nice way to say every brick was bought with someone else’s gold.” He looked at Quinn closely. “You sure you’re ready for this, Ariel?”

She shook her head. “Not really.” She gave Jake a weak smile. “But... it’s not the first time I’ve caught up with a dead man.” She lowered her voice. “I didn’t feel like talking about it but once we got back home, I... looked up Kele. I needed to find out what happened to him.”

When she didn’t go on, Jake nudged her gently. “And?”

Quinn smiled, but it was forced. “He survived the war – came out of it with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He went back to the Southwest, got married, opened a garage and then a chain of them. His daughter was the first Native American elected to Congress from their district. She served five terms before she retired. One of his grandsons is a session musician in L.A. – he’s a guitarist. He’s played with just about everyone. And Kele... he died in 1998 of heart failure.” She sighed. “I was two years old then, and my parents were just figuring out how sick I was.”

Putting an arm around her, Jake pulled her against his side. “I forget sometimes just how much livin’ you have crammed into that head of yours.” He kissed the side of her head. “C’mon.” He led her up the stairs and into the house.

Jake paused in the entrance, dropped a handful of pound coins into the donation box, and jerked his head toward a nearby alcove. “Feel like checking out the gift shop? It ain't a vacation without tacky souvenirs.”

Quinn smiled, this time with more sincerity. “Sure, why not? But let's just look for now – I don't feel like dragging anything around the museum.”

“Killjoy.” They dodged a gaggle of shrieking children, all of them wearing felt pirate hats and waving foam swords at each other. “Don't envy those parents on the way home.”

Pausing at a display stand, Quinn said, “Hey, look.” She picked up something and handed it to Jake; it was a thin paperback book with a blond pirate on the cover. It was probably supposed to be Malatesta, if Malatesta had a side hustle posing for steamy romances. _“The Lost Dorado – Found._ They didn't waste much time getting this published.”

Jake flipped through the book. “Nah, looks like this is an older book with a new cover. Not a lot in here – bunch of old pictures, a map of the Caribbean, basic pirate timeline. Hey, here’s a picture of Yellowbeard himself.” He showed a page to Quinn; it was a stylized image, probably taken from a late seventeenth century portrait, but it was undoubtedly Malatesta. He was much older than when the Catalysts had known him, and he was shown wearing a huge curled wig and a froth of lace falling from his neck. Jake went back to browsing the book. “Big font size, lots of white space. I would’ve loved this when I was a kid writing book reports. Looks like they added a chapter to the back of it – this section says it’s an update. I'm gonna buy a copy so you can read it to me on the flight back.”

As he went to the counter, Quinn browsed the merchandise. There wasn't a lot – fake doubloons and cheaply-made black flags, a rack of t-shirts, toy ships and pirate action figures. She held up one of the felt pirate hats and examined it, trying to imagine how it would look on Reggie. Next, she picked up one of the foam swords and hefted it, swishing it through the air.

“Careful, Red, the clerk's giving you the hairy eyeball.” Jake walked over to her, the book tucked under his arm. “Havin' a pirate flashback?”

Quinn wrinkled her nose at him and put the sword back. “Ready to see what we can find?” They walked back to the lobby and stood in front of a wall chart showing the museum’s layout. “Well, it looks fairly easy to navigate. So to speak. Let's start at the beginning.”

Jake came to a stop in front of an elaborately framed family tree. His jaw dropped. After a moment, he said, “Okay, I guess it makes sense that 'Malatesta' was a nickname. But... geez, the poor guy. I'd have dumped my own name as soon as possible too.”

“I know.” Quinn shook her head, stunned. “He... sure didn't look like a Fear-God.”

“Fear-God Plunkett, of the Woolwich Plunketts. Looks like there were a lot of 'em. His parents were... Dorcas and Nehemiah?”

“They were probably Puritans. They usually went for biblical names.”

Jake snorted. “So that's why he ran off to become a pirate? Well, now I feel better about my teenage rebel phase. All I did was wear clunky boots and a lot of flannel.”

“You still wear clunky boots,” Quinn said absently as she read the caption on a portrait of two dour-faced children.

“Hey. I'll have you know that these are finely-made aviator boots, thank you very much!”

Quinn grinned at him over her shoulder. “Finely-made boots that just _happen_ to make you two inches taller. Don’t think we haven’t noticed.”

“Watch it, darlin', or I'll make you hitchhike your way back across the Atlantic. Who do we have here, Wednesday and Pugsley?”

“Nope, two little Plunketts from the next generation – Ezekiel and Nathaniel. Twins.”

“Huh. Were they his?”

Quinn went back to the family tree. “No, looks like they were nephews. That caption says Malatesta didn't have any legitimate heirs and his siblings all died before he did, so these little boys inherited his fortune when they became adults. They were the ones who had this house built in 1722.”

Jake walked a few displays over. He whistled under his breath. “They didn’t get to live here long. Nathaniel was hanged in 1729 for killing his brother.”

“Yeesh.” With a shudder, Quinn hurried past the gruesome replica of a gallows. “Was it an accident?”

“Not even close – says here that a servant walked in and found Nathaniel standing over his brother's body with a bloody knife in his hand. Some folks said it was over money, others said it was over a woman. Nathaniel went to the gallows swearing his brother committed suicide. Does it say there who the house went to next?”

Quinn wandered along the row of portraits. “A cousin. And as for _his_ heirs... both of his sons died at Yorktown and his daughter got disowned for being an abolitionist. So then it went to another cousin, even further removed. He and most of his children died of cholera... Jake, this might be the most depressing tourist trap I've ever seen.”

Shaking his head, Jake came to join her. “Gotta admit, I haven't seen many families with worse luck. C'mon, let's go this way.” He pointed at a sign. “Looks like the next room has more about the yo-ho-ho part of his life. If there’s gonna be anything here about La Huerta, I bet it’s in there.”

They entered a large, open room. Quinn stopped and stared around, her eyes wide. “Oh, _wow._ ”

Jake nodded. “I think we figured out where they're spending their budget.” In the center of the room were two huge model ships, both of them at least twenty feet long. Walking up to the velvet rope surrounding the nearest ship, he leaned over a large bronze plaque. “Constructed in 1936 and based on descriptions in Malatesta's captain's log... the Dorado.” He straightened up and indicated the full white sails. “Whoever did this knew what he was doin' – I don't see any mistakes in the rigging.”

Quinn looked at him in surprise. “You know about sailing ships? You never said anything when we were on the Dorado.”

“Why’s everyone always so shocked when they find out I know more than flying and drinking?” Jake shrugged. “Naval Academy, remember? My degree was in Engineering but I took a few history classes with Mike.” A shadow passed over his face. “He always said he went through a major pirate phase when he was a kid. He could talk about boats for hours. Anyway, there was... a lot goin’ on when we were on the Dorado. I had other things on my mind.”

Leaning close, Quinn put an arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. They stood in silence for a minute, and then she tugged him toward a display near the door. “Let's check this out. I spotted it on the way in – is this who I think it is?”

Jake chuckled as he looked at a large poster. “Not the best likeness – I'm glad Yvonne never saw this.”

“It looks like it's based on an old seventeenth century woodcut or something. They usually weren't concerned with accuracy, but you're right. They got pretty close on the earrings but they made her downright homely. I’d be insulted if I were her.” She paused, skimming over the caption. “It says here that she and Malatesta shared ownership of the Dorado, but never at the same time.”

“Is that the diplomatic way of saying they tried to kill each over the damn boat?”

“I'd say so.” Quinn raised her eyebrows. “It also says that Yvonne vanished shortly after she founded Port Patrice, and in spite of rumored sightings around the Caribbean it's believed she went down in a storm – Malatesta is supposed to have taken the Dorado all over for five years, looking for her.”

“Sounds kinda out of character for him.”

“Oh, I don't know,” Quinn murmured. “He was rude and self-centered and greedy, but... he wasn't all bad. He had his good points too.” She fell silent, her eyes distant.

After a few moments passed, Jake gave her a sidelong look. “Is there something you ain't telling us, Ariel?”

She sighed. Keeping her voice low, she said, “I told you that I'd already spent a while on the Dorado with him before he found you and the others. We didn’t spend the whole time with him teaching me to steer the ship. When he pulled me onboard... I was half dead and for a few days I was almost sorry the ocean didn't finish the job. After the Island's Heart possessed me, I – Jake, I didn't know who I was or _what_ I was. I wasn't even sure I was still human and... I wanted to feel human. I wanted to feel something, _anything_.” She smiled sadly. “He was good at that.”

Jake blew out a long breath. “Quinn, he didn't....”

“No,” she said quietly. “I made the first move every time. I think he was so shocked by me being, in his words, 'a bloody forward wench, Miss Witch,' that I got to call all the shots.”

“That’s my girl.”

Quinn gave him a grateful half-smile. “I cared about him, but I didn’t love him. I sure didn’t have any illusions that he loved me, either. But... we kept each other company for a while and I suppose that was what we both needed.” With a visible effort, she shook off her mood and went to the next display. “Okay, we’re getting closer. This is about the shipwreck that those treasure hunters found – and yes, it’s been updated, and it says the salvaged treasure is in storage in that museum in the Keys. It doesn’t say anything about La Huerta so _that’s_ good. It just says the Dorado went down in a hurricane southeast of Providencia. Most of the crew, including Malatesta, was saved by the ship following him, but all the Dorado’s treasure was lost. There was still a lot of gold on that second ship, at least. He went back to Jamaica for a few years and did a little more pirating, then came back here to England and bought his way into respectability, and eventually he died peacefully in his bed. Well, at least he... Jake? What are you looking at?”

Without taking his eyes away from a large display case near the other model ship, Jake held out a hand to Quinn. “Remember what you said about him not loving you?” he asked quietly. “You might want to reevaluate, Red.”

“What do you... oh. Oh, Jake.” Quinn leaned her head against Jake’s shoulder and looked at the carved figurehead of a woman in the case. In spite of its age and weathered appearance, she could clearly see the remnants of bright red paint on the figurehead’s long flowing hair, the bright blue of its eyes. Her eyes dropped to the description and she murmured, “Taken from Malatesta’s surviving ship... the Green Witch.”

“Yeah. Gotta hand it to him, the guy knew a good thing when he saw it.”

Blinking back tears, Quinn murmured, “Thank you, Captain.” After a minute, she let Jake steer her to a large portrait hanging on the wall. “And here he is... Jake? Jake, is that –?”

Jake nodded slowly. “Here’s another plaque for you to read, Ariel. Says this was painted just before his departure from Jamaica with the treasure he planned to stash away.” He looked grimly at the huge open chest at Malatesta’s feet. It was spilling over with heaps of gold coins, pearls, jewelry, and.... “Now, a casual observer would think that hunk of green at the top is nothin’ but the biggest emerald anyone ever saw.”

“But we’re not casual observers, are we?” Quinn felt a fist close around her heart. “That is a La Huerta crystal if I ever saw one. And we all know that I did.”

Jake shook his head. “This is why I hate museums.”

* * *

A few weeks later, Raj, Craig and Zahra sat in the bar of a quiet Key Largo hotel. Looking around to make sure no one was within earshot, Craig asked, “So how much longer do we have to wait?”

“The museum closed at seven, so we should wait at least another hour to let the sun go down and make sure the staff have all gone home. It’s a few blocks from the bar district so there shouldn’t be a lot of passers-by to see us.” Raj took a bite of his shrimp puff and his face fell. “I know our cover story is that I’m down here making plans for a show on Caribbean cooking, but this place is _not_ making it into my fake episode.” He put the half-eaten appetizer back on his plate.

Zahra looked up from her phone. “IRIS just sent a floorplan of the museum and she says they’re relying on security systems rather than actual guards. Gotta love budget cuts. She wants us to buzz her when we get there so she can send me the security codes and deactivate the sensors. That should give us a clear shot to the storage room so we can get in and out in a few minutes.”

“And do you have... _the item_ that Jake dropped off with you?” Craig asked in a stage whisper. The other two shared a tolerant look and Raj wordlessly patted the messenger bag slung over his shoulder. “Good. I still wish we coulda gone the whole Mission Impossible route and cut through the ceiling.”

“If I’m gonna swing around in a harness with you, Craig, it sure won’t be for a spy mission.”

“TMI, Zahra.” Raj cut into a conch fritter and sampled it cautiously. After a few careful chews, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Okay, these are really good. I guess the hotel is back in my fake episode.”

“I’m sure they’ll be relieved.” Zahra took a swig of her beer. “You didn’t get a chance to fill us in on your call with Diego. How are things going down there?”

Raj shrugged. “A little better now that Estela’s had a chance to do some digging. She’s going back and forth to Elyys’tel about once a week so at least she isn’t completely isolating herself at the beach house.”

“That’s good to hear.” Craig grabbed some fries from Zahra’s plate and she gave him a half-hearted swat. “Are things still weird between Estela and Diego?”

“He says they’re getting better – so reading between the lines, that means things aren’t great but they could be worse and he doesn’t want to talk about it.” After a moment, he went on. “He also said he’s not quite ready to talk about this either but he’s been asking around and it turns out that there are some old stories about the crystals. He said there are a bunch of what he called ‘common narrative threads’ that he’s sorting through and... well, Diego thinks he might actually have a line on some way to use the crystals to reach Taylor.”

Zahra and Craig stared at each other, wide-eyed. “Fuuuuuck,” she breathed.

“Yeah, that’s basically what I said. Anyway, I’ll be in La Huerta in a few weeks – Jake and I are using the excuse that we’re making a supply run, and Quinn wants to see if we can check on Furball if we get a chance – and I can get a better report then. I decided to rent a car to take the crystal to Jake – I think it’d be safer than risking trying to get it by the airport screeners. I’ll meet up with my film crew for a few days to grab some footage, and then Jake and I are flying it down to La Huerta. I really appreciate you guys offering to take care of Buddy while I’m down there, by the way. I sure didn’t want leave her with a dog-sitter in New York and then drive to New Orleans.”

Craig grinned. “Are you kidding? I’m already looking forward to the road trip back up to Boston and watching her stick her head out the window for the whole way. I _love_ that dog.”

“I’ve noticed.” Zahra smirked at him. “People are starting to talk.”

“You better not be trying to steal my girl.” Raj glanced at the clock on the wall. “The museum’s about a half-hour walk from here. Let me head up to my room to grab Buddy and we can head over.”

“Wait. You’re bringing your dog along while we break into a museum?” Zahra asked in disbelief. “I don’t say this often but you’re as bad as Craig.”

Craig grinned. “Makes total sense, Z! I mean, who ever heard of a spy bringing his dog along? It’s a great cover story.” He looked at Raj. “Right?”

Raj hesitated. “Actually, I just didn’t want to take her for a walk when we get back... but sure, we’ll pretend that was my plan all along.”

A short while later, they were a block away from the museum. Zahra pulled out her phone and hit an icon. “You there, IRIS? I’m putting you on speaker so the guys can hear.”

“Thank you, Zahra. If you’ll give me a moment... there. I’ve been monitoring the security cameras for the area and I have enough footage to put all of them on a loop for fifteen minutes. That should give you more than enough time to accomplish your mission.”

“Our _spy_ mission.”

“If you like, Craig. I’ve just sent you the security codes, Zahra. The archival storage room is easily accessible from the back door – when you enter, go down the hallway to the left. You’ll want the third door on the right – you won’t be able to miss it.”

Raj grinned. “Because we’re that good?”

IRIS chuckled. “I’m sure you are. However, the door is clearly indicated with a sign that says ‘archival storage.’ That’s where you’ll use the second security code and, once inside, you’ll be able to make the switch. I’ve taken a look into the museum’s records and I’ll be able to identify the correct box by its accession number.” Buddy woofed softly at a cat on the other side of the street. “Raj, I know that she’s very well-behaved, but I’d recommend that you leave your dog outside. There’s a handy spot near the back door where you can tie her lead.”

“Seriously, dudes, I wasn’t planning on bringing her in with us,” Raj muttered.

Zahra took a deep breath and reached into her pocket. “Okay. Here we go – I’m starting your drone, IRIS.” She hit a button and the small chrome skull rose above her hand, two tiny red crystals glowing dimly. “C’mon, guys, gloves on, don’t touch anything you don’t have to, and act casual,” she said as the three of them took a corner and went into the alley behind the museum. Glancing at her phone, Zahra punched a code into the keypad and carefully tugged on the door; it opened easily. “And we’re in.”

“Stay, girl,” Raj whispered as he followed the others inside and gingerly closed the door behind him. “Left, third door – right?”

“You’re a natural, Raj,” IRIS said. He blinked at the calm, amused voice coming from the ominous-looking drone. “Other than a few mice, I’m not detecting any movement or heat signatures in the building. You’re clear – shall we proceed?”

“Storage, just like you said.” Zahra punched in another sequence and they entered a room full of industrial shelving and gray boxes. “Man, it’s cold in here!”

“Of course it is, dear. Most archival facilities attempt to maintain constant temperature and humidity – but that’s not important now.” The drone shot away and, a few seconds later, began beeping as it came back to them. “I’ve located the crystal. If you’ll walk this way?”

Craig whispered, “If I could walk that way –”

“Shut up, Player Two.” Following the beeps, they wove around the shelves. The skull’s red eyes shone brightly in the dim light, and a thin beam of red light focused on one specific box. “Is this the one?” Zahra pulled it off the shelf. She frowned at the white label – it was some kind of numerical code.

“It is indeed. Will you do the honors, Raj?”

Reaching into the messenger bag, Raj pulled out a large green crystal. “I can’t believe you were able to make an exact copy, IRIS,” he said.

“Oh, it wasn’t difficult at all to make a synthetic emerald at the RI laboratories. I was able to get the dimensions from both the Malatesta portrait and the footage of the salvage crew, as well as several news reports. Of course, there’s always the possibility of a slight margin of error... oh, I _am_ good,” the AI said happily as Zahra and Raj held the real crystal and the duplicate next to each other.

“Chyeah, you are!” Craig held up his hand for a high five and the drone obligingly tapped against his palm.

Sliding the copy into the box as Raj tucked away the authentic crystal in his bag, Zahra said, “Okay, yeah, great, congratulations all around, let’s get our asses out of here.” Moving quickly, they headed for the back door and slipped outside. After Zahra made sure the security code was reset, none of them spoke until they were out of the alley.

“And if you’ll give me a moment... there.” IRIS’s drone hovered in front of Zahra. “The security cameras will go live in twenty seconds. I believe we did it, my dears.”

Zahra nodded, still tense. “Thanks to you,” she said as they walked back to their hotel. “I think I’ll stick with hacking. It’s nice and safe and I can do it in my jammies. Lucky you, Raj, you get to watch that thing until you head down to La Huerta with Jake. Let’s just hope it doesn’t do something wonky between now and then. And here’s something we haven’t discussed – what happens if anyone ever takes a good look at the replacement? There sure weren’t any fake emeralds in pirate days. We probably should have set up some kind of alibi.”

“You needn’t fret about that, Zahra.” The drone almost seemed to be skipping along cheerfully. “For one thing, I’ve made sure to insert a few moments of CGI – nothing elaborate or ostentatious, I promise, just the occasional car or pedestrian – here and there in the looped footage so no one watching will realize that it’s a repeated scene. If anyone suspects a theft at some point in the future, they’d have no reason to single out tonight as being suspicious. Besides, it seems that one of the divers on the original salvage team has a bit of a criminal history. She was involved in several jewelry heists in her youth and if the crystal is ever tested for some reason, I’m sure that news of her former misdeeds will somehow find its way to whoever might be investigating. Since she’s currently working on an underwater site near Trinidad and has been since the Providencia dive, there won’t be any way to conclusively tie her to the switch. Even so, it should sufficiently muddy the waters enough that they won’t bother looking for anyone else. They certainly won’t have any reason to suspect that a celebrity chef, a musician, and a game developer were behind it.”

Pausing to let Buddy sniff at an intriguing lamppost, Raj shook his head. “Damn, IRIS. It’s a little scary how much thought you put into this. Have you ever considered a life of crime?”

IRIS laughed. “Of course not, dear. It would hardly be a challenge, now, would it?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which dreams are delayed, discussed, and disturbed.

With a sigh, Estela sat back on her heels and peered into the basket at her feet. The multi-colored crystals it held shimmered back at her. At first, she’d thought that they were reflecting the light of the lantern she’d suspended from the ceiling. She had been wrong. She couldn’t keep denying the truth of her own eyes, that the crystals were somehow generating their own illumination. There was an occasional gleam from the pile as they threw off weak sparks along their contact points. Removing her heavy gloves, she carefully held her hand a few inches above the crystals and the sparks increased in brightness and frequency. The palm of her hand started to tingle and the fine hairs on her arm grew erect as goosebumps rose along her skin. She closed her eyes and tried to burn the sensation into her memory.

Pulling her hand away, Estela’s gaze shifted to the rock wall in front of her. After weeks of laboring in the caves she’d finally come to the last of the crystals... well, the last of the ones that she could reach for now. She was going to start in the tunnels near the old observatory next. IRIS assured her that if she needed more crystals there were other veins, even richer than this one had been, in the depths of these Karaax’tel caves and throughout La Huerta. And according to Raj, the crystal from the wreck of the Dorado was huge – he’d gone on for quite some time about his astonishment that what everyone assumed to be a huge emerald had been left guarded by nothing more than a few easily-hacked security systems. If he wasn’t exaggerating, it was larger than any she’d found so far.

But would one more crystal, no matter how large, be enough to tilt the scales to whatever “enough” was?

Estela tentatively put her hand on the side of the basket. Through the reeds, she could feel the dull thrum of the crystals slowly resolve itself into a slow, rhythmic pulse. Was it echoing her heartbeat, or was it demonstrating a life force of its own?

How was she supposed to know? _How_?

She wrapped her arms around her knees and leaned against the cold, hard stone. It was late afternoon. She could probably make it back to the beach house before it was entirely dark if she started now. But she’d been digging for hours, and she was sore and tired and hungry, and she felt like she could curl up behind a rock with the basket for a pillow and sleep for a year. Well, maybe not precisely _here_ , in this particular cave – Diego hadn’t been exaggerating about the size of the bats flying around.

And maybe she wasn’t all that anxious to sleep, here or anywhere else. When she slept, the dreams came. She was happy in her dreams because Taylor was with her. but waking up was becoming more painful every morning. If dreams weren’t real, then how could it be so painful to dream of someone stroking your hair, kissing your throat, and then waking up alone?

Groaning, Estela stretched out her aching legs. She knew that she could have taken one of the speedboats to Karaax’tel and saved herself miles and hours of walking – Jake had taught her to operate them last year. But for reasons she hadn’t been brave enough to examine closely, she kept feeling like she had to do as much as possible without anyone’s help. But why? Why did she feel like she had to keep on punishing herself... as the idea crossed her mind, she felt the tension in her shoulders increase even more and, with a deep breath, she turned her mind away from that line of thought. She still wasn’t ready to deal with that.

Yes, she could probably make it back to the house if she pushed herself... or she could follow the much shorter path to Karaax’tel. Seraxa’s cousin lived there with his family. The war chief had introduced them – unlike the residents of Elyys’tel, their English was a little shaky but they’d welcomed her to stay with them any time she chose. She’d already had a few meals with them. The two smaller children were fascinated by her scars – her warrior’s marks, they called them – and they seized on every opportunity to practice their English. The oldest boy... Estela smiled. Instead of English, he’d managed to pick up a fair assortment of Spanish curses from her. What would Diego have to say about that?

Diego... her smile faltered. She’d finally managed to apologize for continuously snapping at him a few weeks ago when he came to the beach house. He’d accepted the apology immediately, of course, and turned it into a joke. That was what Diego did. But then she showed him the pile of crystals she’d brought down from the waterfall, and his eyes had grown wide and he had reached out to touch them... Estela thought that she’d stopped herself in time from instinctively trying to block him from the crystals. But Diego had noticed, of course, because that was also what Diego did. He noticed things. After a tense moment passed, he took off his glasses to polish them and he made another joke, asked if she was turning into Gollum or maybe Smaug.

He didn’t try to touch the crystals again.

Estela closed her eyes and, almost reluctantly, she laid her hand against the basket again. After a few moments, she felt the almost-heartbeat weakly vibrating through the rough surface. A few tears slipped through her lashes as she imagined it was Taylor’s heart, Taylor’s body, beneath her hand. They’d had so little time together... Estela cradled the memories in her own heart, unable to stop replaying those few precious weeks over and over. The images swirled there, all jumbled and confused. Splashing together in an icy lake. Running together, fighting together against the Shore Guardian. Battling together against the Vaanti, against Arachnid soldiers... lying together in Taylor’s bed, both of them all warm sweet flesh and sweat and tasting and touching and laughing in astonishment and joy. Watching the stars together... the stars. Where Taylor was now.

Clenching her hand into a fist, Estela curled into herself. This wasn’t helping. Jake and Raj were planning to fly down soon. She probably needed them; they were both, in their different ways, good at pulling her out of her own head. Diego thought he was figuring out how they might be able to use the crystals – in spite of his hurt, he’d told her his theories during their last conversation – and he said he was looking forward to bouncing his ideas off them as well. There were a few old Vaanti legends that talked about Vaanu’s body spreading through La Huerta, and other stories of the Endless pulling Vaanu back together. _When the skies turn clear_ , the legends said, and _pull the bones together_ – those repeated lines ran through all the tales like _once upon a time_ or _happily ever after_. That was surely what it would take to bring Vaanu back; pulling the bones together couldn’t mean anything but finding as many crystals as possible.

But what did clear skies mean? It couldn’t be something as simple as a cloudless day or night. Those were so common on La Huerta that there’d be no need for a prophecy to mention them. Were they supposed to look for an eclipse, an alignment, something going into retrograde – _what?_ Estela pressed Diego over and over, desperate for the slightest shred of understanding and hope, until he finally snapped back that he was a fucking film critic, not an astrophysicist.

Diego didn’t swear all that often. He only swore when he was exhausted, or terrified, or provoked beyond his endurance. He was swearing at her more than usual these days.

Getting stiffly to her feet, Estela made sure the basket was securely fastened before she slung the strap over her shoulder and gathered up her tools. She blinked in the sunlight as she exited the cave, and she hesitated. She could make it to the beach house before it got too dark if she left now. She could make it if she pushed herself. She just had to go down this path and turn south and walk, and keep walking, and then go to bed and wait for the dreams to start.

Instead, she took a deep breath and turned to the east, toward Karaax’tel. Even if she couldn’t be with her family right now – and even though she still didn’t know if all of her work would somehow lead to a chance to be with Taylor again – she knew this wasn’t a good night to be alone. 

* * *

“There we go, sweetheart,” Grace crooned as she lifted Reggie from his stroller. He fussed a little as she slid his jacket off. “I know you love being outside, honey, but it’s starting to rain and I’m afraid you need a change. You don’t like being a soggy baby, do you? I promise we’ll have a longer walk tomorrow.” Pushing the stroller to the side of the foyer, she took Reggie deeper into the house. Her footsteps echoed slightly; they definitely still needed some more carpets. “Daddy will be free tomorrow, and he’ll go with us, and we can even go to the park and see the duckies.”

“I do love ducks,” Aleister said as he opened the door to his study and peered out. “I thought I heard you come in.”

Grace smiled as she walked over. “It’s getting a little drippy out there and honestly, so is our boy – oh!” She laughed a little as she saw a middle-aged man looking curiously around her husband’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, I thought your interview would be over by now.”

“It’s quite all right.” Aleister came out and bent down to kiss her cheek and the top of Reggie’s head. The baby jabbered excitedly and reached for him, and Aleister lifted him into his arms. “Mummy was right – you are a bit soggy, aren’t you? At any rate, Mal and I were nearly finished but I wanted to welcome you home. We’ll be done here shortly.”

The reporter stepped forward. “Actually, Mrs. Rourke – or is it Mrs. Rourke-Hall?”

“Ms. Hall,” Grace said with a friendly smile. “Our little one here is the only hyphen in the house.”

“Ah, of course.” He nodded, a little embarrassed. “Well, I was wondering if you might want to sit in on the end of the interview. I understand you have another exhibition coming up soon and I’m sure our readers would be interesting in hearing about it.”

Grace and Aleister exchanged a glance. Shrugging, she said, “Why not? Let me just get Reggie cleaned up and settled for his nap and I’ll be right down.”

A few minutes later, she entered the study and sat down in the chair Aleister pulled out for her. She glanced at the recorder in the middle of the desk and the notepad on Mal’s knee. “All right. Where shall we start?”

Aleister gave her a crooked smile. “We were just discussing our decorating choices, believe it or not.”

“I certainly didn’t mean to cause offense,” Mal hurried to say. “You must admit, though, that one wouldn’t normally see the children of billionaires living in a house – and it’s a lovely house! – with so much, well....”

“With so much from IKEA?” Grace completed his thought. She and Aleister shared a smile. “Well, we’ve only been here for a few months. We’ve both been busy and frankly, neither of us is all that interested in shopping. We’re also not crazy about the notion of hiring someone to come in and tell us what to buy, so...” she shrugged. “This is a big house since we needed enough space for our friends to stay when they visit, so we have a lot of rooms to fill. It’s convenient to walk through the showrooms and pick out entire rooms at a time so for now, IKEA it is. I enjoy putting things together and it’s been very relaxing for me, believe it or not. As time goes by, though, I’m sure things will change as we figure out what our tastes actually are.”

“And besides, Reggie is crawling and he’ll be walking before we know it,” Aleister added. “We’ll be choosing furnishings based on durability and practicality for a while.”

Mal scribbled furiously on his notepad before looking up. “That’s certainly a practical way of looking at it. Considering your respective backgrounds, however, it’s a bit surprising that neither of you has more luxurious tastes.”

“You’ve never seen my mother’s apartments,” Grace said dryly. “Everywhere she lives is all glass and metal – very sleek and expensive, but I wouldn’t call it luxurious.”

Aleister made a face. “And the less said about my upbringing, the better.” He grew more serious. “I suppose I understand your question, though. I was raised with certain... expectations, and the life I lead now is quite unlike what I used to imagine it might be. I never dreamed I’d be so....” he trailed off, then gave Grace a warm smile. “I suppose ‘domestic’ is the only accurate word for it. Grace and I both do the shopping, we both take care of our son – it’s nothing like either of our childhoods. My father was very seldom home. He spent long days in his office or a laboratory, and his evenings were dedicated to rubbing elbows with what he considered high society. My mother died when I was quite young, and I was raised by a cadre of nannies and housekeepers and tutors. I lacked for nothing, but I never understood why my father spent so little time with me. Now that I’m a parent myself, I understand my father even less.”

“Ah.” Mal considered Aleister for a moment before turning back to Grace. “We were discussing the elder Mr. Rourke earlier, and what he might think of the change in direction his company has taken. Do you have any thoughts on that, Mrs. – Ms. Hall?”

Grace thought for a moment and chose her words carefully. “Everett Rourke is, and was, a... deeply troubled man. He’s obviously brilliant and driven, but some of his goals were not admirable.”

Mal waited for her to go on. When she didn’t, he asked, “But do you think he’d approve that the worldwide corporation he built from nothing is less than half the size it used to be?”

Aleister laughed sharply. “He didn’t precisely build it from nothing. His father was quite wealthy, as was my mother’s family – after they died, my father inherited a considerable fortune.” He shrugged. “After his trial, neither my sister nor I had any interest in continuing any of his... projects. We chose to downsize the company and refocus our efforts on sustainability and ecological initiatives.”

After glancing at his notes, the reporter looked at him curiously and said, “During the ten years before the La Huerta incident, your father was never lower than fifteenth on lists of the world’s wealthiest people. On the other hand, last year you barely made the top hundred of any of those lists and you’d completely slipped off a few. That’s a considerable difference.”

“I have considerably different priorities,” Aleister said coolly, “and it’s not as if being near the bottom of that sort of list makes me a pauper. I’m surprised that I’m ranked that highly, to be honest. I keep trying to give money away but, thanks to what a dear friend calls ‘the miracle of compound interest,’ it doesn’t seem to be working as quickly as I’d hoped.” He turned to Grace. “But you said you wanted to speak to my wife about her latest artwork?”

Mal turned to her eagerly and Grace nodded. “I’ve become interested in cloisonné and enamel work in general – I’m fascinated by the effects that you can get. Right now I’m working on a series showing how these metallic substances can be used to replicate organic forms, and what that might imply about our industrial – and now in some ways, post-industrial – society. I suppose there’s sort of an Art Nouveau influence in some of my recent pieces, and probably some Arts and Crafts as well. I keep finding myself wandering through the V&A looking at anything by William Morris.” She spoke enthusiastically for several minutes, with the reporter scribbling notes and interjecting the occasional question. Finally, with a laugh, she said, “That’s one of the things that convinced us to buy this place in Battersea. There’s a carriage house out back that we’re converting to a studio – it’s so much more convenient than renting space from someone else. It has a wonderful garden in the back too, and that was important to Aleister.”

“Is that so? You don’t strike me as a gardener, Mr. Rourke.”

Laughing, Aleister shook his head. “That’s because I’m not. Unlike decorating, mowing grass and trimming shrubberies are jobs I’m more than willing to hire out. But I wanted to give my son a chance to grow up with a garden, since I never had that as a boy. I love the trees surrounding the house as well – in fact, there’s one that I think would be an excellent choice for a treehouse. If you’d like, I’ll show it to you on the way out....”

A little while later, Aleister walked back into the study. “Well, he’s safely on his way. I think it went well, but I suppose we’ll find out once his article is published.”

Grace looked up from the computer with a smile. “I was just double-checking the report your mother sent us on his background – he doesn’t seem to have any connection to our Ms. Langenfelt.”

“I didn’t think so, either.” Sitting down in the chair next to her, he added, “He’s been a journalist long enough that he’s probably learned to assess his tipsters very carefully and I doubt he’d be swayed by anything she tried to sell him. Some of his questions were a bit uncomfortable, but no worse than anything else I’ve dealt with. However, I admit that I had some difficulty keeping a straight face with that ‘never lower than fifteenth’ bit of nonsense. That was only assuming the assets my father admitted to having. Once you throw in all the wealth he had stashed away, he easily would have been in the top three. Maybe someday I’ll let Mal in on how difficult it’s been to get rid of that money as well.” He chuckled slightly to himself. “Before La Huerta, quite a few reporters contacted me to gather background material – they always asked what it was like being the son of a great man like Everett Rourke. And afterwards... well. You were there, darling. ‘What is it like being the son of a convicted criminal?’ ‘You’re not _really_ giving half your company to your illegitimate sister, are you?’ And, of course, the ever-popular ‘How is it possible that you don’t know what your father was trying to accomplish on La Huerta?’”

Taking his hand, Grace turned toward him. “I’m not going to bother easing into this. What was in the latest report from the prison doctor?”

Aleister sighed. “Father is doing more poorly by the month. He screams my mother’s name at night, he insists on sleeping in a room with no electrical wiring, and he’s recently been refusing to even bathe. His nightmares are so severe that his physicians are recommending nightly sedation.” His frown deepened. “Grace, I know that my mother has... well, visited him. You don’t think...?”

Grace thought for a few moments. “Do I believe she’s deliberately driving him insane? No. I know that in the beginning, she made sure that he knew she was watching him but that was all. I think if she’s done anything, she’s made it impossible for him to hide his insanity,” she said gently. “I think the trial showed him that he can’t hide his true nature from the world anymore, and now he can’t even hide the truth from himself. His mind is breaking under the strain of realizing what he really is.” She sighed. “I suppose I should be able to garner some sympathy for him – he _is_ insane, and it must be terrifying for him. But... I was his captive at MASADA. He never physically harmed me or allowed anyone else to harm me, but the things he said to me....” She shook her head. “No. It doesn’t matter how many therapy sessions I have with Julia, I’ll never be able to forgive him. Even if IRIS appears to him night after night like the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet To Come all rolled into one, I still wouldn’t have any sympathy for him.”

“And yet you love me,” Aleister said quietly. “Why? Because I _am_ he, you know.”

Tilting her head to one side, Grace put her hand on his cheek. “Aleister, my love... do you know why people stopped cloning their pets?” Aleister raised his eyebrows at the non sequitur, and she smiled. “It was a huge trend for a few years. People with pets they adored – and more money than they knew what to do with – would get them cloned so even after Fluffy died, Fluffy Two would still be there and it would be just like old times, right?” She shook her head. “Only it wasn’t just like old times, because Fluffy Two never turned out to be identical to the original Fluffy. No one has been able to figure out precisely why but even when the DNA matched perfectly, chromosome by chromosome, there were always differences in appearance or temperament or both. And eventually, even though it still goes on here and there, most people stopped doing it.” She leaned closer and captured Aleister’s eyes. “Your mother wasn’t with you nearly as long as she wanted, but while she had you, you were _hers_. There’s simply no possibility that she wasn’t a far greater influence on the man you are today than a clump of cells injected into an egg. I can see that in your eyes today, and I saw it in your face when you held our son for the first time. You are a good man, Aleister Rourke, and your father is no part of you. Now.” Standing up, she pulled her husband to his feet as well. “We need to start thinking about what we’re having for dinner tonight, and I think it’s time to introduce another new food to Reggie. Should we try giving him a tiny bit of roasted salmon?”

“As a matter of fact, I found some lovely cherry tomatoes at the market this morning and I thought we might dice one up for him and see how he likes it. We probably shouldn’t introduce more than one new food in the same day.” Resting a hand on Grace’s waist, he slowly twisted one of her long braids around his finger. “But, my dear, I must ask a great favor of you.”

“Anything,” she whispered back.

“Please... do not _ever_ repeat this conversation to Jake. I’ve finally resigned myself to being called Malfoy for the rest of my life. I never want to hear him calling me Fluffy Two.”

* * *

“Mmmph... whuh?” Diego blinked awake slowly as he sensed movement next to him. “Varyyn?” Propping himself up on one arm, he rubbed his eyes and looked down at his husband. Varyyn’s forehead was creased and his arms were twitching. Diego leaned closer, trying to make sense of the mumbled Vaanti words. “Varyyn? Varyyn, babe, wake – _whoa._ ” He jumped back just as Varyyn shot upright, breathing heavily. “Okay, okay, you’re awake, that’s good.” Rubbing his broad back soothingly, Diego waited until Varyyn’s breath slowed. “The same one again, huh?” It wasn’t quite a question. “It looks like keeping the crystals with Estela isn’t enough to stop the dreams. Do you want some water, or I could turn on a light?”

“I only want you.”

“Okay, that’s –” Diego’s reply was cut off as he was swept close and cradled against Varyyn’s chest. “That’s fine.” They sat like that for a few minutes, Varyyn’s cheek pressed against the top of Diego’s head, his unbraided green hair falling around both of their naked bodies like a shield. Diego asked, “Was it the same dream again?”

Varyyn nodded and pulled away a little. “Yes, and no. I saw the Endless again, only this time when she revealed her face... it was not elderly. It was Taylor as she was when we last saw her. Her hair was long and yellow, and her face – her face was unwrinkled, but sad and full of longing. It was as if she had become one with her aged self. She stood in front of... I am not sure where she stood. She was beckoning to me, as she always does in these dreams, but this time she spoke to me as well. She said... she told me to call her when the skies were clear.”

Diego looked up at him. “She really said that? Could it be that’s because we’ve been talking about those old legends so you had that phrase stuck in your head?” he asked, knowing the answer before Varyyn shook his head. “No. That would be too simple.” He rested his head against Varyyn’s shoulder. “Damn it.”

“As unpleasant as these dreams are, at least it means we are on the correct path,” Varyyn said with the ghost of a smile in his voice.

“I know. That’s why I’m saying ‘damn it.’” Diego sat back and looked unhappily at Varyyn. “You’re a part of this. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Varyyn nodded in resignation. “I know. It seems that no matter what form Taylor assumed when she joined with Vaanu, or how distant she may be, my mind remains linked to hers and at least for now, she is trying to reach us through my dreams.”

“And she _is_ trying to reach us. There’s no other explanation. But is she trying to come back, or is she just trying to talk to us?” Sighing, Diego leaned against Varyyn’s side. “I hate thinking about you getting caught up in all this. This isn’t your fight.”

“Your fights _are_ my fights, my love. And Taylor... aside from the love you have for her, I owe her an immense debt. Her sacrifice saved all the Vaanti... well, and the whole world, I suppose, but the whole world is not my concern. The Vaanti, and our island, and you – those are my concerns, and I will carry this burden without complaint.” Stretching out on the bed once more, he pulled Diego down with him. The two men laid together in silence, Diego’s hand tracing the patterns on Varyyn’s skin. After a few minutes, Varyyn murmured, “It feels like you are trying to memorize my tattoos.”

“What do you mean ‘trying’? After all this time, I could draw them in my sleep.” Diego’s fingers continued their movements. “I remember the beginning. I couldn’t stop staring at them... or at you. Every time I thought I could get away with it, I was watching you.”

“As I watched you.” Varyyn smiled slightly in the dim moonlight that filtered through the curtains. “I remember a day when I came across you talking to a group of our children, and I stared at you. I looked at your skin, and I realized that it was the color of honey.” He trailed a finger down Diego’s back. “And then I realized that I was wondering if your skin tasted as sweet as it looked.”

Diego put his arm around Varyyn’s waist. “And?”

“And after much thought, I have decided that I was wrong. Your skin is so much sweeter than the finest honey.” The two men’s lips met in a long, gentle kiss.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Diego whispered as he rested against Varyyn’s side.

“I am glad you – the waterfall!” Varyyn exclaimed.

“The what?”

“I think... yes. It was the waterfall.” Varyyn nodded slowly. “I know the outcropping of rocks by its side and that is where Taylor was waiting. She was at the waterfall where Estela first searched for crystals.”

Taking a deep breath, Diego looked at Varyyn. “Do you think that’s where this big… whatever is going to happen?”

“I think it is likely. I wonder if we should search that site again. Not for more crystals, but for… I suppose I do not know what we should search for. Perhaps my next dream will show us. I am glad Jake and Raj will be here soon. They will be able to help us decipher this, I am sure.”

“Yeah, I hope so. Just try not to have any more of those dreams for the rest of the night. We both need some sleep.”

Varyyn brushed his lips against Diego’s. “As you wish.”

Diego went back to running his hand lightly against Varyyn’s tattoos. Almost to himself, he mused, “Taylor said that the time loop reset itself over two thousand times. Do you ever wonder how many times you and I ended up like this?”

His voice little more than a soft rumble in his chest, Varyyn said, “Two thousand or two million or only this one time – it does not matter. You and I are here now, and we are together now, and we will always be together. Our souls became one at Niala’rei, and eternity transcends time.”

Although he never relaxed his gentle grasp on Diego, Varyyn’s breath deepened and slowed until, finally, he slept. Diego returned his husband’s embrace and stared into the darkness until it faded away into daylight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Michelle has had enough.

“After you, Dr. Nguyen.” The other doctor held the changing room door open for Michelle.

Sailing through, Michelle looked over her shoulder with a grin. “Why, _thank_ you, Dr. Delarosa.” Once the door closed, she fell onto the bench with a long, drawn-out groan. “Oh, man, what a _day_. I’ve been running from one end of the hospital to the other ever since I got here. ER shifts always kill me.” She looked up and her face fell. “Oh, come on. Please don’t tell me that you had a great day _again_ , Ines”

“Well....” Unable to hold it in, Ines gave her a sunny smile. “I almost hate to say it, but I really did have a wonderful day! I met the nicest old couple – they’re here on vacation from Antwerp and she had an allergic reaction to something. They held hands the whole time I was checking her out. They were so _sweet_.”

Michelle laughed as she stood up to open her locker. “Last week, you said the guy who threw up on you was sweet.” Shrugging off her white coat, she began getting into her street clothes.

“He was! He felt so bad about it, and it certainly wasn’t his fault he had food poisoning. I told him it was the lobster roll’s fault, not his. Oh, Michelle, that scarf is _gorgeous_!” Ines leaned closer to get a better look. “Would you mind if I touched it?”

“No, of course not.” Lifting the pale green mirralt scarf from her shoulders, Michelle passed it to Ines.

Ines ran the material through her hands. “It’s so light… it’s silk, right?” She held it to the light. “I love the way it shimmers. I don’t want to be pushy, but did you find it here in Boston?”

“I’m afraid not.” As she placed the scarf around her neck again, Michelle said, “A friend gave it to me a few summers ago. But if you’re looking for one, I saw some great silk scarves the last time I was at the Faneuil Hill market. I saw some that were kind of a golden champagne color – I bet that would look really good with your skin tone. I’ll pick one up for you next time I’m over there” Michelle smiled to herself. As much as she’d enjoy giving a scarf from La Huerta to Ines, it probably wouldn’t be wise. Michelle had quite a selection in her wardrobe by now; contrary to her forbidding demeanor, Seraxa was always happy to share bits and pieces of her wardrobe. It probably didn’t hurt, though, that Michelle always remembered to bring something from the outside world in return.

“Aw, you’re the best!” Slipping into her jacket, Ines added, “Did that pharmaceutical rep ever catch up with you?”

“No, thank God. I’ve been so busy with patients that I didn’t even know there was one looking for me. What wonder drug are they peddling this time?”

“I’m not sure… I don’t think she really tried to talk to anyone else, actually. She spent about an hour asking everyone where you were. She even started to follow me and Zaid into the cafeteria – he had to dial the Grumpy Doc act to eleven before she left us alone. All I got out of her is that it’s something to do with tropical diseases. She was really vague about giving out any details.” Michelle froze in the act of taking her purse out of the locker, but Ines kept talking. “I guess she found out that you go down to the Caribbean at least once a year and that’s why she wanted to talk to you in particular.”

“Huh. Did you happen to get her name?” Michelle asked carefully as she turned around.

Ines’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “Tina… Harrison? No, Hanson. Definitely Hanson, because I’ve been humming ‘MmmBop’ ever since I talked to her.”

Tina Hanson… that was the alias Langenfelt had used before. Michelle closed her eyes and started to count to ten. She gave up at seven. She opened her eyes and gave Ines what she hoped was a calm smile; judging by the startled blink the other doctor gave her, she didn’t quite make it. “Do me a favor? If she comes by again, help me dodge her. I don’t want the other reps thinking I’m an easy mark.”

Grinning widely, Ines said, “You know I will. But Michelle, trust me – _no one_ who’s met you thinks you’re an easy mark.”

“I’ll have to see what I can do about that – sometimes it’s useful to take someone by surprise. See you tomorrow.” Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Michelle left the changing room. She walked down the hallway and, seeing that no one was watching, she ducked into a nearby supply closet and pulled out her phone. She stood there, tapping her foot, until it was answered.

“Sean? Listen – yes, it’s great to hear your voice too, sweetheart. I know it’s short notice but is there any way you could get away for a day or two and fly up here? No, not tomorrow – I need to talk to a few more people first. There’s something we need to take care of.”

* * *

Getting out of the cab, Michelle looked up at the duplex. “According to Zahra, Langenfelt lives at the door on the left.”

Sean looked around. “It’s a nice neighborhood. Looks like she doesn’t have much luck with plants, though.” He nodded at the planters on every other step leading to the front door. “Petunias and impatiens – my mom grows those. Too bad all of them are dead.”

Absently, Michelle said, “That makes sense, based on what we know about her mental state. She probably buys plants because she’s trying to make an effort – she _wants_ her house to look nice. But she can’t quite keep up with them so the flowers die. Then she’s too embarrassed and ashamed to replant them and try again, so she ignores them. The dead plants will sit there for a while, then at some point she’ll get her motivation back and she’ll start the cycle all over again.” Seeing the skeptical look on Sean’s face, she gave him a quick smile. “I took all those psychology classes in pre-med, remember? I figured it’d come in handy once I started treating patients, and it has.” She noticed that Sean was scanning both sides of the street. “You don’t see her, do you?”

He shook his head. “Nope, just checking to see if her car is around… and there it is.” He pointed at a spot a few yards away. “It’s the blue CR-V – the license plate matches what Zahra gave me.”

Michelle smiled up at him. “Thank you, Mr. Memory. We can assume that she’s home, then. How do you think we should handle this?”

Sean thought for a few moments. “Honestly, it might be better if you take the lead. My size comes in handy on the football field, but some folks seem to think it’s a little scary having a six foot eight Black man standing on their doorstep. She might think we’re trying to intimidate her if I ask most of the questions.”

“That’s exactly why we’re here, though.”

“That’s exactly why _you’re_ here,” he answered with a quick grin. “The rest of us just want her to leave us alone. I don’t think we’ll accomplish that by being confrontational right off the bat.”

“That’s a fair point,” Michelle said reluctantly. “I was kind of looking forward to tearing her a new one, though.”

“I know, honey, but I think that would be the wrong way to handle her.” Sean brushed her hair back. “Tell you what – if you promise to dial it back with Langenfelt, I’ll take you on the subway later so you can terrorize the manspreaders.”

Reaching up, she kissed his cheek. “You still know the way to my heart. Okay, I agree that we should take it slow – I’d like to let her make the first move and bring up whatever she wants to talk about but I don’t think we’ll get that lucky. If you’re ready… let’s go.” She led the way to the front door and pressed the intercom. After a few moments, a woman’s voice hesitantly said, “Yes?”

“We’re here to see Christina Langenfelt.”

“I’m….” There was a faint whirring from above, and Michelle nudged Sean’s arm and nodded at the security camera. They both looked up to show their faces as clearly as possible. The voice continued after a few seconds. “She’s not here.”

Very clearly, Michelle said, “I’m sorry to hear that. If Christina’s not around, we’re also interested in speaking to Tina Hanson. We’ve never been formally introduced, but I’m Dr. Michelle Nguyen and this is Sean Gayle. I’m pretty sure Christina knows who we are. And so does Tina.” There was no answer. Keeping her face as impassive as her voice, Michelle spoke directly to the camera. “You’ve never contacted us directly, but we know you’ve been trying to talk to us for years and we’re tired of playing games. This is your chance to ask your questions.”

There was a long, tense pause, and then Michelle heard a series of clicks as locks were turned on the other side. The door opened and a woman – middle-aged and tall, pale with dark brown hair piled on the top of her head – stood in front of them. She looked significantly older than she had in the photo Zahra sent around after the first incident, but it was unmistakably Christina Langenfelt. She stared up at Sean and down at Michelle, blinking rapidly. Her face was composed but there were two spots of color high on her cheeks. She wore a green cardigan; Michelle wasn’t sure if it was alpaca or cashmere, but the buttons were definitely in the wrong holes. “I… guess you’d better come in,” she said weakly as she stood back against the hallway.

“Thank you, Ms. Langenfelt,” Sean said as he followed Michelle inside. He gave her a small nod, signaling that he was waiting for her to set the tone.

Taking a breath, Michelle turned to Langenfelt. “We appreciate you talking to us today, Christina. Can we sit down?”

Christina’s eyes flickered to a nearby doorway. “I… suppose we could go in here.”

“Thank you.” They followed her into a living room. The furnishings were comfortable and they seemed to be fairly high-end, but everything was dusty and there were piles of books and papers and clutter everywhere. The air was musty and stale. Glancing at Sean as they seated themselves on the sofa, Michelle saw the way he was scanning the room – he was probably memorizing its contents.

Pulling a chair away from the desk, Christina sat down a few feet away. Her hand fluttered to the pocket of her cardigan; Michelle saw the outline of something thin and flat. It was almost certainly a phone – the odds were pretty good that their conversation was being recorded. She and Sean had to be careful. _Better than a gun, at least,_ Michelle thought.

When their hostess just sat and stared at them, Michelle gathered her thoughts and said, “I know you were at the hospital a few days ago, and I know you were trying to speak to me.” Christina opened her mouth to reply but Michelle shook her head firmly. “Please don’t deny it. I haven’t contacted hospital security or asked to see the footage yet, but I’ve spoken with some of my colleagues and you match the description of the woman they told me about. I wanted to talk to you before I decide whether or not to file harassment charges against you.”

“Har –? I wasn’t trying to harass you!”

As if the other woman hadn’t spoken, Michelle went on. “You presented false credentials at Edenbrook to get inside. Even if the hospital doesn’t want to file criminal charges, the odds are good that they’d trespass you if I decide to tell them what you did.”

Christina blinked at that. “ _If_ you decide?”

Michelle nodded. “If. I told you that we’re tired of playing games, so I’ll lay our cards on the table. We know that you’ve been trying to get to us for years, but you’ve always used go-betweens before. The podcaster you sent after Quinn Kelly, the London art critic, that law student you sent on a wild goose chase to Louisiana – we know about all of them. But this is the first time you’ve come after us directly. And what I want to know is… why?”

“Why?” Thrusting herself to her feet, Christina began pacing the cluttered room. “You _know_ why! Don’t pretend you don’t know exactly what this is about.”

When she turned away from them, Sean touched Michelle’s elbow and nodded at a world map on the wall. She looked at it and her lips thinned; a red cluster of pins poked into Boston, one in New York, a few in London, one in New Orleans. There were green pins too, placed seemingly at random, and there were other pins, all different colors, scattered around the map. Seattle, southern California, San Trobida, Michigan... _our families,_ Michelle realized. _She’s keeping track of our families._ And La Huerta... the island was circled in heavy red marker. Michelle controlled her anger and said, as gently as she could manage, “No, Christina, we _don’t_ know why, but we want to get to the bottom of this. All we want is to live our lives.”

“You want to live your lives,” Christina said bitterly. She dropped back into her chair and stared at them. “Rourke Industries was _my_ life. Do you know how long I worked with Everett Rourke? Fifteen years. I worked my way up through the ranks – I started as a secretary, damn it, just to get my foot in the door. I was damn good at my job. I thought I was going to – but then, without any warning, I was shoved out.”

“You know that isn’t true. You could have stayed when Aleister and Estela took over the company, but you decided to leave.”

Christina laughed bitterly. “Do you really think I was willing to work with them, after what they did? They sliced the company in half, they ended the program I spent years of my life on. And for what? So they can tinker around with solar power, with saving pandas or whatever they pretend they’re doing.”

Sean leaned forward a little. “They’re trying to repair the damage their father did,” he said urgently. “I don’t think you understand that. Rourke hurt so many people –”

“Mr. Rourke never hurt anyone!” She stabbed a finger at Sean. “His children paid all of those people off, so of course they all lied in court and made up those terrible stories. He _never_ would have done the things you accused him of!”

Sean was on the verge of replying angrily, but he stopped when Michelle laid a hand on his knee. She waited until Christina looked at her before she spoke. “He did all of those things, and worse. He threatened all of us. He held us at gunpoint, and he ordered his people to shoot us because he didn’t want to get his hands dirty. Have you ever had to kneel on a cold steel floor with someone holding a gun to the back of your head? I have. We lost –” She stopped herself from mentioning Taylor just in time; instead, she changed direction to keep the other woman from interrupting. “I was a pre-med student then and I’m a doctor now, so naturally I’m interested in what happened to the Celestial’s guests. All those people who you say lied in court, the medical experts, the ones who were actually in the stasis tubes – do you think they were all lying about the aftereffects some of them suffered?”

“They must have,” Christina said, but she spoke more weakly than before.

Michelle shook her head. “No. Those pods were still in the early experimental stages and Rourke should _never_ have put anyone in them – not even for a few hours, let alone months. The aftereffects were horrible. A lot of the survivors have recurring muscle spasms, hallucinations, cardiac issues... there were twenty-three strokes among the survivors within the first year. That’s far outside what you’d expect to see in a group of that size.”

Her jaw set stubbornly, Christina said, “People have strokes all the time. That doesn’t mean Mr. Rourke was to blame.”

Tilting her head to one side, Michelle said, “I’ve noticed that you still call him Mr. Rourke. You still respect him, don’t you? After everything you’ve heard – from us, from the trial – you still believe in him.” Christina blinked hard. Keeping her voice soft, Michelle went on. “He said he believed in _you_ , after all, and he believed in your research. He encouraged you, didn’t he?”

“My work wouldn’t have hurt anyone,” Christina said. Her voice was almost pleading.

Michelle shrugged. “As you intended it? You’re probably right. After all, companies spend a lot of money to hire people to go online and support their products or programs. Using an AI to do the same thing – able to instantly react and adjust to pushback, capable of analyzing responses and initiating new tactics... from a purely practical viewpoint, it’s brilliant. The problem is that your program could so easily be misused or manipulated. What if a pharmaceutical company had a dangerous drug they still wanted to promote? They could have used your work to create AIs to downplay the risks or cast doubt on the research. Political groups could use it to start rumors about their opponents. The Miners could use it to go on football fansites and start saying the Condors suck.”

“Hey.”

“Just an example, honey.” Michelle turned back to Christina. “I can tell how passionate you are about your work. Didn’t you ever consider focusing that passion into another project? Even if you didn’t want to stay on at RI, someone with your track record wouldn’t have any trouble finding a position at another company.”

“The Rourke kids probably had me blacklisted,” she muttered.

Raising an eyebrow, Michelle asked, “Really? What kind of reaction did you get when you sent out resumes?” Christina flushed, and Michelle nodded. “You didn’t even try to look for another job, did you? Well, you seem to have done pretty well despite not having an income.” The other woman’s blush deepened, but Michelle decided not to press the point. She didn’t want to give away the fact that she knew about the severance package Aleister and Estela gave her.

Sean shot her a quick glance, and Michelle nodded. He turned to Christina. “A few years back, you sent a reporter to ask my brother questions about me. I know that you’ve used other people to go after our friends, trying to get us to talk about La Huerta. What I want to know is, why did you finally decide to try coming at Michelle yourself? What changed?”

Christina swallowed hard. “I had to get to you somehow to find out what really happened, and I… I didn’t think any of you would talk to me. You’ve all managed to dodge every question every reporter tried to throw at you, so I thought I could find out more if I sent someone else in my place. When that didn’t work, I tried someone else. And when none of them found anything… I had a lot of time on my hands so I looked up everything I could on Mr. Rourke’s island and all of you. I couldn’t see how anyone actually believed a man like him could have done those things. I couldn’t understand how all of those people could have lied – what kind of money did the Rourke children shell out to pay off all of them, those greedy little bastards? They just wanted his company for themselves!”

Finally exasperated, Michelle said, “If all they wanted was money, they would have kept quiet and let him have his way. You said it yourself. The company is half the size it used to be. They paid a small fortune – oh, let’s not kid ourselves. It was a _huge_ fortune in medical bills and compensation, and that was before the trial even got started or they had any idea what witnesses would be called. Does all of that sound like the actions of greedy little bastards?”

Putting a hand on Michelle’s shoulder, Sean said, “Just one more question, Christina. How much money would it have taken for you to lie under oath?”

She turned on him. “I would _never_ have lied!”

Sean nodded slowly. “So you’re saying you’re more ethical, more moral, than every single person who testified against Rourke? Or all the people from RI who sent in affidavits about the shady projects he was trying to keep under the radar? You think all of them – and the two of us, and our friends – we all just stood there with our hands out until Aleister and Estela met our price? Now, how does that make any kind of sense?” Christina stared at the wall over his shoulder and refused to answer, but her eyes started to fill with tears.

Sighing, Michelle stood up. As Sean joined her, she turned to Christina. “You’ve probably guessed that we have enough evidence to charge you with harassment at this point. We don’t want to do that… but remember that we know who you are and what you’ve done, and we’ll know if you try it again. You don’t want to push your luck. You don’t want to push me. We’ll see ourselves out.” She turned at the living room door and looked back at Christina; she was still in her desk chair, staring at the wall with tears running down her face.

Once they were outside, Sean put his arm around her shoulder. As they walked slowly down the sidewalk, he asked, “What do you think she’ll do next?”

Michelle shook her head unhappily. “I wish I knew. I want to think that we talked some sense into her, but it’s just as likely that she’ll wait until she thinks our guard is down before she tries something else.”

“Yeah. Well, Zahra said that she was going to alert IRIS about all of this. She wants to keep closer tabs on her and she figures IRIS will be more than willing to help. You saw that map, right?”

“Oh, I sure did,” Michelle said grimly. “It’s bad enough that she’s been keeping track of all of us. The thought that she’s even _thought_ about going after our families… well, you’re just lucky that I’d already promised to play nice.”

“And I appreciate it.” Sean frowned to himself. “Seeing that map shouldn’t have hit me as hard as it did. I already knew she’d sent someone after Keith. Still... I think I’m going to call my Mom tonight. Just, you know… because.”

“I should call my mom, too. It’s been a while since we talked. I couldn’t figure out what all the green pins were for, though.”

Sean shrugged. “Sundance, London, Hartfeld, NYU – those are all places that Diego has had film seminars or panels or whatever. She probably hasn’t figured out where he’s living, so she’s trying to track him that way.”

“Oh, wonderful. We’ll have to let him know. There’s something else, too.” Michelle’s steps slowed as she gathered her thoughts. “I talked to Grace a few days ago, and she said that Rourke’s nightmares are getting worse. The doctors at the prison say he’s having hallucinations. Some of the people who were in the stasis pods reported the same symptoms. I wonder....”

Sean frowned down at her. “You think being in that tube is what drove Rourke insane?”

“Not... precisely. I think it’s likely that he was mentally ill to begin with. Or maybe it’s somehow more comforting for me to say he was disturbed, rather than evil. At any rate, it’s possible that spending six months in the pod was enough to tilt him over the edge into full-blown insanity. It might be worth looking into. I’m not sure if it’s possible to treat him at this point, but it might be a persuasive point against anyone else trying to continue that line of research.” They walked in silence for a few blocks; then Michelle sighed and looked up at Sean. “As angry as I am at Langenfelt right now, I suppose we have to count her as one more victim of Everett Rourke. She reminds me of Lila, actually. Rourke found her weak spots and fed her just the right kind of praise to turn her into a follower. Do you think she has any idea how lucky she is that he never got his claws all the way into her?”

“Nope. I hope I’m wrong or that we at least gave her something to think about, but odds are pretty good that she’s still a true believer.” He looked down at her. “You still want to do the subway, or should we head right to dinner?”

Michelle tightened her grip on his arm, suddenly fatigued. “Let’s do dinner first. I don’t like to terrorize anyone on an empty stomach.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And after this... things pick up speed. Buckle up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a friend from the past reappears.

Frowning skeptically at her plate, Paravet said, “I still do not understand what these sky shields are, Diego.” Taari glanced at the two of them curiously but continued shoveling in the scrambled eggs Estela had prepared.

Diego scratched his nose as he tried to explain. “Well, the earth is surrounded by these magnetic fields, higher up than any of us can see. They let in things like sunlight, but they filter out other forms of radiation... um, light rays that might be harmful.”

“Ah.” Paravet nodded thoughtfully. “Are they similar to the filters we use in the cisterns to keep our drinking water clean?”

“I don’t… huh.” Raising his eyebrows, Diego nodded. “Actually, yeah. That’s as good as any description I’ve been able to come up with. I probably should have talked to you about this sooner.” He turned back to Estela, standing near the kitchen table with her arms folded tightly around herself. “Anyway, Grace and IRIS have been tracking the fluctuations. They think they’ve identified a pattern – the levels seem to be at their weakest every ten days or so, and a lot more solar radiation is seeping through at those points. Apparently it’s a big enough difference from the usual levels that the scientific community has started to pay attention. Today or tomorrow will mark another low point and if the pattern holds, we can expect to see the levels bottom out again next Wednesday. They’re going to keep analyzing their data, but they say they’ve ruled out any kind of correlating weather thing or planetary alignment or whatever. I think it’s likely—well, possible, at any rate – that these lower magnetic fields might be what the Vaanti legends meant by ‘when the skies are clear,’ so that might be a good time to try contacting Taylor somehow. I _hope_ that’s what it means, at least. My eyes started glazing over pretty bad when they ran all the technical stuff by me.”

“I’m glad Raj and Jake will be here this weekend. They might be able to pay attention when people talk to them,” Estela snapped.

“Estela...” Paravet took a deep breath; rather than saying anything more, she stood up abruptly. “I think this is an excellent time for us to examine the coastline, Taari,” she said as she headed for the door.

“But I’m not done!” Taari exclaimed.

“Look again. I think you are.” The teenager looked at Paravet’s stiff back; then, with another quick mouthful of eggs and an apologetic shrug to Estela and Diego, he followed her outside.

After a long, tense moment, Estela unfolded her arms and said, “Let me guess. She wants to give you a chance to yell at me in private.” She winced at how childish her words sounded in her own ears.

“Knowing Paravet, it’s more like she decided to leave before she started throwing hands – but sure, yelling would feel pretty good around now.” Instead of shouting, Diego pushed his plate away. When he turned to Estela, his face was drawn and exhausted. “How long are you going to keep this up?” he asked quietly. “Because I am so _tired_ of doing this every damn time we see each other _._ ”

“I don’t....” Closing her eyes, Estela took a deep breath. She pulled out the chair across from Diego and dropped into it. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been... well, horrible. It’s just – I mean, how am I supposed to deal with – with all of this?”

“I hope to hell that was a rhetorical question because if you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of in the dark too. It sure doesn’t help when you keep acting disappointed that I haven’t figured anything out yet.”

“I –” Estela bit back an angry retort. “I know that you’ve been trying to help, and I... I know that I haven’t been letting you. It’s just that I never dreamed that there might be a way to get Taylor back and now... it’s like she’s almost close enough to touch. We just need to figure out a few more things but I don’t have any idea what those things even are, and the thought of being so close to finding her again and knowing that it could all slip away – it’s killing me. I dream about her every night. _Every night_. I dream that she’s with me, that she’s holding me – and then I wake up alone. I know that it’s unfair to keep lashing out at you, but you don’t have any idea what I’m going through! You’re trying your best but there’s no way you can possibly understand what it’s like. It’s been so easy for you and Varyyn –” Estela stopped herself, but not in time.

Diego stared at the table and nodded slowly. “Easy? Yep. It I guess it _was_ a piece of cake for me. Well, other than thinking you guys might all be dead – that, or wondering if you’d figured out a way to get off La Huerta but you left me behind. I’m still not sure which one hurt worse. And other than being held captive for six months and knowing that half of Elyys’tel thought it would’ve been a good idea to kill me – not because they hated me, just because they thought it was the best way to keep the Vaanti safe. And it probably would have been the logical thing to do. I get that.” He took off his glasses and stared at them. “And other than falling in love with someone I thought I never had a chance of actually being with. And other than realizing that he loved me too, but we both knew there was no hope of us ever being together. And other than losing my best –” His voice broke for a moment; then, quietly, he continued. “I still can’t figure out why Vaanu chose _me_ to be her best friend.” He kept his eyes on his glasses as he spoke. “I’ve got all these... well, they’re not really memories, you know? There’s nothing I can actually see or describe, but I _know_ that Taylor’s my best friend, just as well as I know my own name. Vaanu must have stuck all of that in my mind for a reason. God knows why I got picked, out of all of us. Raj would have been a better choice, or Michelle. Taylor deserved someone who’s strong, someone who’s smart. I’m just a movie nerd, you know?” He smiled weakly.

“Diego –”

Waving a hand at her, Diego put his glasses back on. “But none of that keeps me from seeing how much pain you’ve been in for the past five years, or how much pain you’re in right now. I know how much you love Taylor – it doesn’t matter what she really is, or where she is now. You love her and I know she loved you.” He shrugged. “I’m sure she still does – that’s why she’s reaching out for you now.”

“She’s reaching out to you, too,” Estela said past a lump in her throat.

Again, Diego shrugged. “I don’t think so. Taylor’s reaching out to Varyyn – I don’t know how, but it looks like their minds are still linked. Me? I’m just a glorified wi-fi booster. Remember when we went through the Lernaean Gate, and she was trying to reach Varyyn so we could get back through? Nothing happened until she held my hands. Well, Varyyn doesn’t dream about Taylor unless I’m with him. Maybe... maybe Vaanu made me fall in love with Varyyn so I’d stick around.” He made a face. “I’ve been so happy here, you know. I was starting to believe that maybe I really was the star of my own story, not just a supporting character. I feel more comfortable with the Vaanti than I ever did anywhere else, but... what if Vaanu _made_ me feel that way so I’d be here when Taylor needed me? Maybe the endgame was always bringing Taylor back to you, and it’s just a happy little accident that I met the love of my life.”

Shaking his head, he stood up and leaned on the back of his chair. “But my little angst-fest doesn’t mean that I won’t do anything I can to get her back because everything else aside, I still _know_ that Taylor is my best friend and I miss her. All I’m saying is that I don’t care if I sound selfish, but it would be a huge help if you’d cut me a little slack while I try to figure out what all this means for me.” He walked out of the kitchen.

By the time Estela gathered her wits enough to follow him, he was outside; Paravet was standing near the house and Taari was out by the water. “Okay, guys, I think I’m ready to head back home,” he called.

Taari turned from the ocean and said plaintively, “Can we at least take a boat back? Jake taught me how to steer them, but no one has allowed me to use one since… but I _promise_ , I have memorized where all the reefs are now! If we use a boat, we will be in Elyys’tel before the rain starts.”

Diego smiled at him. “I really need to walk for a while, so how about this – we’ll head north for a few miles, and then cut across to the airfield. We can grab one of the boats there and sure, I’ll let you steer.” He looked at Paravet. “Are you coming?”

She gazed at Diego intently for a few moments. “I am sure that you and Taari will be fine. I think I will stay with Estela for a while, and I will walk back later.” Leaning her spear against the side of the house, Paravet sat down in a deck chair and stared impassively at the ocean. “I do not fear the rain, unlike some young warriors. I will see you both in Elyys’tel later tonight.”

Frowning uncertainly, Diego said something to her in Vaanti. She shrugged and replied, but never took her eyes away from the sea. Diego hesitated, then turned to where T’Kal was spread out in the puddle of sunlight he’d claimed as soon as the others went inside. “How about you?” The sabertooth twitched an ear and grumbled, but showed no other sign that he was listening. “Yeesh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your beauty sleep.” Finally, Diego turned to Estela; he didn’t quite meet her eyes. “I’ll call you tomorrow, all right? Or maybe you should call me. If you want. Otherwise, I’ll come back down when Raj and Jake get here in a few days with the supplies they’re bringing. You can fix eggs for us again if you feel like it.” Before she had a chance to answer, he’d beckoned Taari to join him and headed for the path.

When they were out of earshot, Estela sat down in the chair next to Paravet. “I think I could have handled that better,” she murmured.

Paravet glanced at her. “You did not spit in his face, at least.”

Estela froze. “How much did you hear?”

Rather than answering directly, the warrior shrugged. “Sometimes even Diego forgets how sharp Vaanti hearing is.” She gestured to her long, pointed ears. “That is why I sent Taari to the water. I did not want him to listen. He respects you.”

“And you don’t.”

Paravet sighed. “That is not true. I do respect you, and I understand why you act in this manner. You and Taylor were wed according to the ways of the Vaanti. Your lives, your hearts, your souls – the two of you are joined forever. It is one thing to be separated by death. Death is a simple, though hurtful, matter to us – if we have joined with another, the loss of one’s partner means only a brief painful parting before our souls are reunited for eternity. But to be separated in such a way, with Taylor changing form and departing far beyond your reach... I will not pretend that I understand your pain.” Estela nodded, unable to answer. “But I _do_ understand how my friend feels. He wants to help you, and you refuse his hand whenever it is offered. I did not realize that he still doubts his place among us, however. Between that and your treatment of him....” She sighed in clear frustration. “I should not be surprised – I have seen Diego do this before. He stares at a wall and imagines all the terrible things that could happen, and he convinces himself that those terrible things _will_ happen. It would be much easier to help him if he did not always insist that he is all right when he is not. He makes it too easy to believe him, and so we do not always see when he is troubled. I have known him for years and I should have noticed his struggle, even if you did not.”

Estela started to defend herself; then, sagging back into the cushions, she joined Paravet in staring at the waves. After a while, she asked, “So what am I supposed to do? I’ve apologized to Diego before, and I’ve meant every word. But the next time I see him, I do the same thing. Why is he the one I keep snapping at?”

With a hint of a smile, Paravet said, “Estela, you have the soul of a warrior, and this is something I understand. You look for enemies, you prepare for attacks. And right now, the enemy you face is the universe itself. Even warriors like you and I cannot fight the entire universe... but that is exactly what you are trying to do. You cannot see an opponent, so you are creating one. Without making a deliberate decision, you have chosen Diego to be its face. Perhaps that is because you trust him to forgive you.”

Nodding unhappily, Estela looked up at the sky. Clouds were gathering to the west... good. A storm might clear her head. “Even Diego can’t forgive someone forever.”

“I agree. That is why you are going to stop expecting it of him” Paravet gave her a piercing stare. “I hope you understand me.”

Estela returned the glare with a small smile. “I might be trying to fight the universe, but I’d rather not go up against you.”

“I am glad. I do not want you to have a broken nose when Taylor comes back to us, after all,” Paravet said calmly.

* * *

“I do not care what you say, Diego. I still believe that Batman could use his devices to defeat any –” Taari stopped abruptly and looked around. “Do you hear that?”

Diego listened for a moment. “All I hear is what the jungle usually sounds like. Why?”

The teen shook his head, frowning. “It is a... a whine or a buzz, like a huge hive of bees. It is coming from the path ahead. And the air feels like it does just before lightning strikes – but that never lasts more than a second or two. This is not stopping.”

Instinctively, Diego glanced up but he couldn’t see the sky through the thick green canopy above. “I didn’t think it was going to rain before tonight. Of course, I’ve been wrong – wait.” There was shouting up ahead of them – in English? – and the sound of people running through the jungle, and then – “Oh, crap.” Grabbing Taari’s arm, Diego yanked him off the path and into the undergrowth.

“What was _that_?”

“A gunshot. Now be quiet and stay down,” Diego hissed. He heard heavy footsteps coming down the path and he shoved Taari further back. He peered through a gap in the leaves, and he froze as two soldiers in matte black body armor came to a skidding halt a few feet away. _Arachnids?_ He heard Taari draw a breath and, without looking back, he clapped a hand over the teen’s mouth.

The Arachnid soldier spoke into her headset. “Gamma 51253 reporting. Still tracking the infiltrator, still not picking up any heat signals. All detection systems still down.” Even through the mask’s distortion, her voice was threaded with panic. “The road is gone, Sarge. We were on it a few minutes ago, the road is supposed to be here, where the fuck is the _road_? Do you think that last group of Hostiles broke out and – and – got rid of it”

“You think those savages could get rid of a whole road in a few minutes, along with all the tracker drones up above? They’re supposed to be sticking to a pattern and I haven’t seen one in way too long. Naw, somethin’ a lot crazier than a jailbreak is going on here. That glowing thing that swallowed us up – maybe it’s one of the Emperor’s new projects that no one is supposed to know about.” The other soldier tapped his own headset and then looked at a display mounted to his forearm. “Still can’t reach HQ or any of the outposts – all I’m getting is voice contact with the rest of the squad. Shit, the general is going to kill us.”

“No, we’re gonna _wish_ the general would kill us – where?” The first Arachnid listened, then turned to her companion. “Epsilon 7328 has a sighting of the infiltrator, wants us to meet up at his location. Which is _where_? We still ain’t got any GPS signal, idiot.” She paused. “He thinks they’re north of us.”

“He _thinks_? Crap. Well. unless you got a better idea, looks like we’re heading back north,” the Arachnid said as he crashed along the path, the other one right on his heels.

Pressed close to Diego, Taari whispered, “What are they? Are they humans like you?”

“I sure hope I’m not like them,” Diego hissed back as he dug his phone out of his pocket. He tried to steady his shaking fingers as he made a call. He could hear a fight somewhere nearby, rapid gunfire and shouting. He heard Estela’s phone ring once, twice... he closed his eyes. Then, finally, she answered. Her voice tight, she said, “Listen, Diego, I’m glad you – was that a gun? What’s –”

“Yes. It was a gun. Shut up,” he whispered urgently. “We’re on the path leading to the airfield, I think five miles north of you. Maybe less? Fuck, it doesn’t matter. I don’t know where they came from, but a bunch of Arachnids are here. I... I think they’re chasing one of their own. We could use some help –” He winced in pain as his phone shrieked in his ear and went dead. He powered it off, and then on... nothing. “Shit,” he breathed.

“Diego?” There was a definite quaver in Taari’s voice. “What is a... what you said?”

Closing his eyes for a second, Diego tried to remain calm. “They’re a kind of soldier. Varyyn and my friends fought them before, when – when Taylor was with us. I didn’t think there were any left.” He tightened his grip on Taari’s shoulder. “We’re both unarmed and we’re still too far from the boats to make a run for it, so here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to stay here and try to keep an eye on them. I want you to pretend you’re Tarzan – I told you about Tarzan, remember? – and get back to Elyys’tel as fast as you can.”

“I will not leave you!” Taari’s voice rose.

“Taari, shut up and listen to me! You’re a lot faster than me, and you’re a lot quieter. My phone is completely fried so I can’t get through to Elyys’tel – Varyyn’s got to know that the Arachnids are back and right now, you’re our best shot of warning him in time. There’s no way I can keep up with you on the ground, and I definitely can’t up in the trees.” Taari opened his mouth to argue so Diego shifted his grip to the back of the boy’s neck and shook him gently. “Taari, _listen_. How often has Seraxa told her warriors that everyone has different strengths? Well, you’re training to be a treewalker, right? That means your strength is traveling through the treetops really fast and without a sound. My strength is keeping my head down and staying out of trouble.” When he saw Taari hesitate, Diego managed to smile as he added, “And do you really want me to tell your mother that you can’t listen to orders?”

“That is not fair,” Taari said, his eyes filling with tears. “I cannot leave you behind!”

“You’re not leaving me. You’re just going on ahead, like a scout is supposed to do. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be back with help. It sounds like they’re spread out between us and the city so you’ll need to go as high as possible to avoid them. I doubt they’ll be looking above their heads but stay as far up as you can. All right?”

Taari hesitated, then nodded. “Stay safe, Diego.” He tensed and, with a single burst of strength, he leapt for a branch twelve feet off the ground. Diego heard a rustle of leaves above him, and then... silence.

Trying to steady his breathing, he stayed where he was for a few minutes. Then, getting to his feet, he looked around until he saw a sapling about the right size. Grasping it firmly, he pulled it down at the same moment he kicked sharply at a spot about four inches from its base; to his surprise, it snapped cleanly off just where he’d aimed. “Huh. I guess Paravet will be proud of me,” he muttered as he stripped off its branches. He heard footsteps behind him; startled, he turned around just an Arachnid came around a bend in the path. His helmet was off, and his face…

Diego’s eyes widened. “ _Mike_?” he blurted out. “You’re Mike Darwin.” Stunned, he looked the other man up and down. Both of his eyes looked real, and his legs – by the way Mike was nervously shifting his weight back and forth, he didn’t seem to have cybernetic legs.

“…Yeah.” Mike swung his gun around to cover Diego, but his finger wasn’t on the trigger. “No sudden moves, okay? I’d really rather not use this. The whole base was on alert so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the general briefed everyone to be on the lookout for me.” His eyes dropped down to the makeshift staff Diego was holding. “I suppose you’re going to tell me you know how to use that thing?”

Diego tightened his grip. “Theoretically, yes.”

Mike looked at him clear disbelief. “Riiight.” He looked up and down the trail watchfully. “This island is off-limits to everyone but the general’s elite forces and a few of the big brains. You sure don’t look military –”

“No argument there,” Diego interrupted.

“So that means you must be in the Science Corps.”

“You know, that would be _incredibly_ handy right about now, but I’m afraid not. I’m a film critic, actually.”

“You’re a... film critic,” Mike said flatly.

“Yeah. I led a panel at Sundance last year. It was about hidden narratives and disrupting the intended gaze. Okay, I _might_ have caused a minor riot when we were talking about _Casablanca_ and I said that Rick was Ilsa’s side piece, but I still think the movie’s focus should have been –”

“Okay, you’re a film critic. I… used to have a friend who liked movies.” Almost smiling, Mike lowered his gun and shook his head. “That doesn’t explain what you’re doing on La Huerta. Unless the Emperor decided to organize a movie night for the Hostiles?”

“I tried that a few times. It turns out that most of the Vaanti prefer verbal retellings to the actual movies, but I might – wait. I heard the others talking earlier and they mentioned him too. Who the hell is the Emperor?”

Mike’s jaw dropped. “Who the hell is... where the fuck have you _been_?”

Shrugging weakly, Diego said, “Oh... here and there. You know. Around.” He paused, and his eyes flickered down to Mike’s legs again. “I’m starting to think there’s something really weird going on around here.”

“You’ve got a keen eye for detail, Dr. Livingstone. And do you mind telling me why you keep looking at my feet? Did I step in shit or something?”

“Not that I noticed. It’s just... um, are those really... yours?”

Mike frowned. “The boots? Nope. I stole them from someone’s locker with the rest of the armor.”

“No, I meant –” Diego fell silent at the same moment Mike looked over his shoulder. Footsteps, and they were getting closer. “Okay, I don’t know about you, but I think this is a _great_ time to hide.” Without waiting for an answer, he ducked off the path to stand behind a tree; Mike joined him after a moment, both of them pressing close behind the trunk. Lowering his voice, Diego asked, “So how many Arachnids are chasing you?”

“A full squad was after me so if it’s still just them, a dozen. If they called for reinforcements in time, who knows?”

“Greeeat.”

Mike laughed softly. “Don’t suppose you have backup coming, Doc.”

“Diego.”

“Whatever.”

Diego carefully peered out from their hiding place. “I called for help, and I sent... well, I have friends coming from the south and I hope there’s a lot more coming from the north.”

“You think that’s your friends getting close?”

Diego shook his head. “They’re fast, but not that fast. We wouldn’t hear them anyway. Well, except for the battle cries, but that’s only if they’re ready to attack.”

“Except for the... you know what, tell me later.”

Both men fell silent as two Arachnids – the same ones from before, Diego thought – came into view. The shorter one was looking at her gun. “My weapon still isn’t working, Sarge. Looks like the targeting mechanism is completely fried and the whole thing seized up.”

“Same here. That pulse we felt earlier really did a number on ‘em. We might be able to switch them back to manual if we had someone from Sigma Division on the squad.”

Turning to Mike, Diego tapped his gun and gave him a questioning look; Mike grinned and shrugged. Mouthing “ _you asshole_ ” at him, Diego tightened his grip on his staff and turned his eyes back to the path.

“Shoulda known it was a false alarm, Sarge,” the shorter soldier grumbled. “Without any trackers, how are we supposed to find Darwin?”

“The old-fashioned way, rookie. We use our eyes. If he wasn’t north, we might as well try heading south. C’mon.”

Instinctively, Diego began to follow them but Mike grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back. “What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed.

“They’re heading toward my friends! I’ve got to –”

His voice grim, Mike said, “You’ve got to stay put, Doc. I know you’ve got yourself a nice big stick there, but I don’t think it’ll do you a whole lot of good against a squad of Arachnid troops, guns or no guns.”

“Look, you don’t –” Both men froze as a primal roar came from not far to the east, followed by a quickly-ended scream.

“What the _hell,_ ” Mike breathed.

Diego watched the dense foliage nervously, only relaxing when a huge spotted beast came out of the leaves. “Believe it or not, Mike, this is our lucky day.”

T’Kal’s massive head swung around and he stared at Mike with a low rumbling growl. His lips pulled back; there was blood smeared on his muzzle and a scrap of stained black fabric was fluttering from one of his long fangs. Diego leaned the staff against the tree, put a hand on Mike’s shoulder and said, “It’s fine, he’s with me.”

“Are you talking to me, or to it?” Mike muttered.

“Both of you. You probably shouldn’t move right now, though.” Diego held his breath. After a moment, T’Kal’s ears swiveled and he bounded off toward the south.

“Did… did that thing just _listen_ to you?”

“You know, I’m never really sure.” Diego looked at his hands; they were shaking. He wiped them on his shirt and picked up the staff again.

Mike nodded, his face blank. “So… you have a pet sabertooth tiger. Sure. Why not?”

Diego swallowed hard. “He’s not really a pet, he just… hangs around.”

“That thing hangs around with you?”

“Sometimes. We never know when he’s going to show up these days. He and his mate have a batch of cubs but they’re almost grown –” Diego winced as he heard T’Kal roar, and then a man’s scream was abruptly cut short.

Backing up until his back was pressed against a tree, Mike stared around wildly. “Okay, so… that’s two kills for your kitty cat.”

“Uh-huh. And if T’Kal’s here, then we’ve got reinforcements coming soon.”

“Oh. Yay.”

Diego laughed, knowing that he sounded more than a little hysterical. “I thought you wanted backup?” He stiffened as he heard footsteps pounding toward him as someone crashed through the undergrowth.

“Is that them?”

Closing his eyes and trying to remember Paravet’s lessons, Diego shook his head. “Too loud.” He clenched his jaw and raised his staff just as the Arachnid solder crashed into view. She’d lost her face shield at some point; she stared at Diego wildly and then, with a crazed, terrified scream, she raised her useless gun like a club and ran at him.

He shifted his grip and thrust the staff at her elbow; with a sharp twist, he wrenched the gun away and it fell to the ground. As her momentum carried her forward, he spun the staff and hit her thigh as hard as he could. The soldier fell but rolled to her feet immediately. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mike circling around, looking for an opening. Trying to keep the Arachnid’s attention away from him, Diego said breathlessly, “Okay, how about this – we could all just stand back and take a break, talk things over, see if we can’t figure out what’s going –” She charged again, and Diego barely managed to strike her hard in the stomach. Even so, her momentum carried her forward and knocked them both to the ground. She recovered first and scrambled to her feet; jerking a knife out of her belt, she tensed... and then her entire body jerked and she stared in numb disbelief at the spear protruding from her stomach.

The soldier fell to her knees and tried to scream as Paravet stepped onto the path. She eyed Mike cautiously; then, seeing that the Arachnid was still trying to rise, she snatched up the fallen knife and cleanly slashed her throat. Dropping the weapon, she stepped over the body and gently pulled Diego to his feet. As she turned him so he was facing away from the corpse, she asked, “Are you hurt, my friend?” She frowned as she looked at his face. “We will need to clean this before I put salve on it.”

“Uhhh... I think I’m –” he flinched when Paravet brushed her fingers against a large scrape on his cheek. “I think my glasses got knocked off. I don’t suppose you see them anywhere?”

“I do not. We can search for them later.” She frowned at Mike as he looked frantically between her and the dead Arachnid. “You are... Mike? I remember you.”

He looked her up and down, sizing her up. He’d picked up Diego’s discarded staff and he was holding it defensively in front of his chest. “Well, it’s not mutual. Doc, suppose you tell me why you and your green girlfriend here know who I am?”

Paravet raised an eyebrow as she pulled her own knife and stepped in front of Diego. “Girlfriend? I think my husband and his would both be surprised to hear that. You were at the wedding. I believe the dance you and Jake taught us is called the Cha Cha Slide.”

“Jake?” Mike took a threatening step forward. “You keep his name out of your mouth. He’s the reason I’m on this damn island – I’m trying to get to the man who killed him!”

Diego put his hands up. “But – but Jake’s not –”

Estela burst onto the path. “Diego!” Shoving past Mike, she pulled Diego into a desperate hug. “Oh my God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I was afraid we wouldn’t get to you in time.”

Patting her back with shaking hands, Diego said, “It’s okay, I’m okay. I’m... I’m just glad I was able to warn you. Did your phone die too?”

Nodding, Estela pulled away. “I still can’t reach anyone. It looks like something disrupted our coverage but I got through to Elyys’tel before my phone lost its signal – Mauri raised the alarm and they’re on their way.” Mike stepped forward, his face perplexed as he stared at Estela. She glanced at him and did a double take. “ _Mike_?”

Groaning, he let the staff fall. “Would someone please explain why all of you know my damn name?”

Snatching up the staff, Paravet looked around. “We know your name because we met five years ago. We will discuss it later. Diego, how many of the Hydra’s soldiers are here?”

“I’m not sure. Mike says about twelve were chasing him.” He glanced at the corpse, then jerked his gaze away. “So... eleven?”

Paravet shook her head. “I saw T’Kal make one kill, and I heard another. We are down to nine. Our odds are improving.”

“Five. We killed four on our way to you.” The leaves rustled, and Seraxa stepped out, Anzhaal at her back. Looking down as she slung her crossbow over her shoulder, she gripped Diego’s arm firmly. “I owe you a debt. Taari is safe, even if he is angry that I placed him at the rear of our warriors. I know you sent him away to keep him from being harmed – for the sake of my son’s dignity, that will remain our secret.” Diego nodded and took a deep shuddering breath. Seraxa looked at Mike with surprise. “Mike. I see that you are no longer dead.”

“I’m no longer... _what_?”

“Sorry. I was hoping to ease into that,” Diego said apologetically. “I might as well just tell you now. Jake’s alive. He’ll be on La Huerta in a few days.” Mike gaped at him. “I... think we’ve kind of got an alternate reality situation going on here, but don’t quote me on that.”

Turning to Anzhaal, Seraxa barked an order in Vaanti; Diego looked away as Anzhaal saluted and melted into the leaves. Switching back to English, the war chief nodded at the Arachnid corpse. “We will carry the dead to the volcano, both those already slain and those we have not yet found.”

“You’re not going to even try to capture them?” Mike asked, clearly stunned.

“Why? If we have any questions, you will answer them. The Hydra’s forces are dangerous and we will not risk taking the others alive.” Seraxa looked over her shoulder and a moment later, two tall figures came crashing onto the path.

“Diego!” Ignoring everyone else, Varyyn strode to Diego’s side. Cupping his face in his hands, he searched his husband’s eyes. “I was not fast enough. You are hurt.” He brushed his thumb over the scrape on Diego’s cheek.

Diego tried to smile at him. “I... think I broke my glasses. I don’t suppose you have my backup pair with you?”

Varyyn ran a hand through Diego’s hair. “I do not. I am sorry, my love.”

“It’s okay. I can still see well enough without them to get around. I just… I….” Diego’s face finally crumpled. “Oh, God, Varyyn….”

“Shhhh. It is all right.” Keeping his arms around Diego, Varyyn steered him toward a fallen tree and carefully sat down with him.

Pausing to squeeze Varyyn’s shoulder and kiss the top of Diego’s head, Mauri walked over to embrace Paravet tightly. When they parted, he looked at Mike curiously. Mike sighed with resignation and said, “Let me guess. You know me too. I’m starting to feel like one of the gang.”

Estela’s phone began ringing. Pulling it out, she looked at the screen. “It’s IRIS.” She switched it to speaker before going on. “I’m here.”

“Estela, thank goodness! I’ve been trying to reach you and Diego for half an hour. Are you both all right?” Mike frowned and stepped forward when he heard the AI’s voice.

Diego didn’t lift his head from Varyyn’s shoulder, but he called out in a trembling voice, “I’m fine. Things are going to hell around here and I probably need a new phone, but other than that, we’re okay.”

“Oh, dear. I was afraid something had gone terribly wrong. I lost all communications with La Huerta a short time ago. Your signal came back quite abruptly just now. What happened?”

“We’re not sure. Listen, IRIS, give us a little while to get back to the house and... cleaned up.” Estela looked grimly at the corpse lying in the dirt. “I’ll call you soon. In the meantime, could you let Aleister and Grace know that we’re all right but something very strange happened? We’ll give you whatever details we have later.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Putting her phone away, Estela said, “At least we can still get in contact with the others, but who knows for how... what?” Mike was staring at her, suspicion slowly turning to hatred.

He nodded slowly. “She called you Estela. The scars threw me off at first, but I knew I recognized you. And that voice on the phone... that’s the First Empress. No one’s seen her in person for years, but everyone knows her voice from her broadcasts. We hear it every week when she tells the world how good we’ve got it and how much we owe the Emperor for taking care of us.”

Estela frowned in confusion. “The... Emperor? What are you talking about? IRIS doesn’t broadcast anything. She’s my... well, it’s complicated, but she’s my stepmother. Sort of.”

His voice and face filled with loathing, Mike said, “And that makes you the Emperor’s daughter.”

Estela gaped at him, stunned and speechless. After a long silence, Diego sighed mournfully. “Yep. Things are going to hell aaaall over the place.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which more plans are laid...

Estela came into the living room and lifted the cup she was carrying. “There’s a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen if you want some.”

Mike glanced at her. “I’m fine.” He shifted his eyes to the clock on the wall for a moment before he went back to staring at the framed photos in front of him. “Looks like Jake is doing okay.”

Estela looked over and saw that he was standing in front of a picture of Jake and Sean. Sean was staring at a pool table in dismay while Jake stood smirking at the other corner, pool cue casually held against his shoulder. “He’s doing better now but from the little he’s said, he was in bad shape for a few years. Losing you was rough on him.” She sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs, careful to keep her distance. Mike was still wary of her, to put it mildly; from what she’d learned about her alternate self over the past few days, she couldn’t blame him for that.

Snorting, Mike looked over his shoulder at her. “According to you and Doc, he lost me twice in this... reality. He’s got one up on me, then. I only had to watch him die once. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

“Actually, I do,” Estela said quietly to her coffee.

Mike shot her a look but didn’t answer at first. Finally, he said, “At least I got to kill Lundgren once already. Can’t say I’m too mad about a chance to do it again.” He walked a few feet to stare at another photo – it was the one from Grace and Aleister’s wedding, the one with Estela leaning against her beaming brother’s side. He shook his head slowly. “It’s weird to see you getting along with him. Where I come from, people have lost count of the assassination attempts flying back and forth between you two. A lot of innocent people have been caught in the crossfire.” He grimaced. “You and the Snake have spent your entire lives trying to get in good with the Emperor. One of you goes up in his favor, the other goes down. Just when it looks like one of you is winning, he shakes things up and the battle starts again. But here, the two of you worked together to stick him in the loony bin.”

“It was a little more complicated than that.” At Mike’s skeptical grunt, Estela shrugged. “There was a trial and everything,” she said with a bleak smile. “I even wore a dress when I testified. The prosecutors said it made me look less menacing.”

Turning back to the picture, Mike asked, “So what’s the story on his wife here?”

Estela’s smile widened. “Her name is Grace. First of all, don’t let her size fool you. She can – and will, given the slightest excuse – hug you hard enough to crack your ribs. Her IQ is off the charts. I’m not sure how many patents she has, but she considers her scientific work a hobby compared to being an artist. She’s _terrifying_ when she gets angry.”

“You’re kidding. That little thing?”

“She got arrested in college for totaling a professor’s car when he gave her a bad grade – well, she considered it a bad grade. I would have been thrilled with it.” That startled a laugh out of Mike. “Don’t worry, she’s had a ton of therapy since then.”

“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever meet her.” His gaze shifted. “I’m guessing this is their kid, right?”

Standing up, Estela joined him at her nephew’s picture. She could see Aleister’s long, pale hand hovering at the baby’s shoulder, ready to catch him if he tilted over into the grass. “Yes. That’s Reggie. I’m probably biased, but he’s amazing. I talked to Aleister a few days ago. He wanted to let me know that Reggie has started trying to stand on his own and he’ll probably be walking before we know it. He and Grace have their phones ready all the time because when he does, they want to make sure to get it on video so they can send it out to all of us.”

“One big happy family, huh? I’m actually glad that he has a kid, though. You know, back... home, there are rumors that....” Mike’s eyes slid to Estela and he trailed off uncomfortably.

Estela frowned. “What kind of rumors?”

“Well, the Emperor is all about preserving his bloodline and there are some people who say that he wants you and your brother to... um.” Mike, unbelievably, turned bright red.

“He wants us to... no.” Estela felt herself grow pale. “He’s trying to _breed_ us?” Revolted, she instinctively took a step away from the wall of pictures. “That’s... horrible. And perfectly in character for the bastard.”

“Yeah. Nothing has come of it yet. Apparently it involves test tubes rather than anything more... face to face, but neither of you is crazy about the idea. It’s probably another reason why the two of you are trying so hard to kill each other.” Mike turned back to the picture. “Reggie, huh? Not Everett Aleister Rourke the Third?”

Estela shook her head, still slightly queasy. “God, no. That was never a possibility. He’s Reginald Taylor Rourke-Hall. Reginald for Grace’s father, Taylor for... for my wife.” She turned sharply and went back to her chair. She picked up her coffee cup but put it back immediately when she saw how her hand was trembling.

“Your wife?” Mike jerked his head at the photos, but he kept his eyes on Estela. “Which one is she?”

Closing her eyes, Estela willed her voice to remain steady. “She isn’t there. I lost Taylor before I got a single picture of her.”

“Not one picture, huh? That sucks.” But Mike’s voice was unexpectedly sympathetic.

“Yes.”

Mike turned back to the wall. After a moment, he asked, “So what was she like?”

“Taylor was….” Estela took a deep breath. “She was unstoppable. She was brave, and fierce, and funny. She always knew what to say, she always knew when to push someone and when to step back. She managed to get all of us –” Estela waved a hand at the photos. “—to work together, even when we thought we hated each other. Even when we _did_ hate each other. She never stopped fighting for us, never gave up trying to make us see in ourselves what she knew was there. She was braver than anyone I’ve ever known. And oh, she was beautiful. Her eyes were as blue and bright as the sky....”

Mike sat down in one of the other chairs. After a moment, he quietly asked, “You need a tissue over there?”

Estela was already fumbling one out of her pocket. “Don’t worry. I always have some with me.” After she wiped her eyes and blew her nose, she went on. “She gave herself up to keep my father from becoming what he wanted to be – what he became in your reality, without Taylor to stop him. For the first few months after she was gone….” Estela sighed and made herself face Mike. “The only reason I’m still here is because I knew how furious she would be if I killed myself. Staying alive was the only gift I had left for her.”

“Yeah. I guess I can understand that.” Mike nodded and his eyes flicked to the clock once again.

Softly, Estela told him, “Diego found a backup phone here and he said he’d let us know as soon as Jake’s plane is in sight. After that, they’ll take one of the boats down from the airfield. You’ll have time to get ready.”

“Ready.” Mike laughed without humor. “Not enough time in the world for that. I’m starting to wish that I hadn’t let Doc talk me into keeping Jake in the dark until he gets here.”

“We’re a very long way from New Orleans. Would _you_ be able to fly a plane safely over that kind of distance – over any distance, for that matter – if someone told you out of the blue that Jake was alive?” Estela answered.

“Good point.” Mike let out a long breath. In an obvious effort to distract himself, he said, “Speaking of blue… what’s the story with Doc and the Hostiles?”

“You’ve got to stop calling them that – the Vaanti really don’t care for that name. But in a nutshell? Diego fell in love with their king, and vice versa.”

Mike raised his eyebrows. “Just that simple?”

Estela shook her head ruefully. “Mike, _nothing_ on La Huerta is simple.”

“Point taken.” Mike grimaced and went on. “It’s just… I watched She-Hulk slit someone’s throat like she was opening an envelope, and half an hour later Doc was hugging her. Granted, I’d just met the guy and I won’t pretend I know him, but most people would have a little problem with that.”

Estela shrugged. “The Vaanti are warriors, first and foremost, and Paravet is one of their best. Diego has lived with them for years and he accepts their ways. In return, they accept him. Diego hasn’t always felt at home in the world. His family... well, according to Diego, his parents are very proud that they’ve stopped telling him to his face that he’s going to hell because he’s gay. They don’t seem to understand why he isn’t willing to count that as a victory. The Vaanti, on the other hand, don’t categorize people by who they love. Diego says he’s happier here than he ever was anywhere else, so this is where he’s staying.”

“And the rest of you are okay with that? From the pictures over there, it looks like you guys have yourselves a pretty tight group.”

“I can’t speak for the rest of us, but... honestly, I wish I felt as comfortable anywhere as Diego does here. He’s given up a lot to be with Varyyn, but he feels like he’s gained even more.”

Mike nodded and gave her a sidelong glance. “The way you talk about your friends... it’s not what I expected. You have any idea how weird it feels for me, sitting here and having a friendly chat with the Dragon Lady?”

“Is that what they call me over there?”

“Yep.”

“It doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“It’s not.”

Estela picked up her coffee again. It was cold now, but she took a sip anyway. As she put the cup back down, she said, “I don’t think I want any more details about her, at least not right now. But if I hadn’t met Taylor, I might have turned into someone remarkably like... well, the other me. I was hell-bent on revenge against Rourke. I told myself that I didn’t need anyone, that it didn’t matter if I hurt someone because they stood in my way. That’s... still a lesson I struggle with. But my wife saved me, in more ways than one.”

“Yeah, I guess –” Mike froze when Estela’s phone buzzed. Reaching over, she picked it up off the coffee table and read the text. She replied quickly, then put her phone down again. “The plane just came into sight. Once they land, they’ll unload and get into a speedboat. And then....”

Mike took a deep breath and wiped his hands on his legs. “And then? What the hell am I supposed to say to Jake?” His voice was suddenly thin and panicked. “ ‘Hey, Grandpa, long time no see?’ Should I drop my pants and let him see I still have both my legs? Do I just stand there like an idiot and wait for him to say something?”

“I don’t know. I wish I knew what comes next, too.”

A short time later – or was it an eternity? – Estela stood in the house’s entryway. She heard Raj’s booming voice as he walked up to the open door. “– so I used pork instead, and I haven’t got the spice mix quite right yet so I want to feed my version to Faranel for his opinion. Heeeey, dudelina!” Pausing to set down the bags he was carrying, Raj swept Estela into a hug. “Lookin’ good, Estela,” he said with a grin as he released her. “So what’s the deal? Varyyn won’t tell us why there were so many sentries around the airfield, and I even spotted a couple on the coast during our ride down. Al told us your cellphone signals have been iffy for a few days – is it because of that? And why did Diego make Jake stay outside for a minute? For that matter, why was Diego so jittery when we landed?”

“Raj has been full of questions,” Varyyn said. “Diego is... telling Jake now.” He listened for a moment. “And I think we should move away from the door.”

“What? Why?” But Raj obligingly stood against the wall with Varyyn. Estela heard footsteps pounding up the steps, and then Jake was in the doorway, staring around with wild eyes. His gaze fell on Estela. “M-Mike?” His voice was shaking.

Estela nodded toward the living room. “In there.” He shoved blindly past her, and she walked over to join Varyyn and Raj.

Raj looked from Estela to the door, baffled. “Mike? What about Mike? What’s going on?”

Diego came inside. “It’s a long, weird story, Raj.” Looking completely drained, he leaned against Varyyn’s side. “Let’s go into the kitchen. We’ll fill you in – at least the parts that we know – while we put away the groceries you brought. And...” he glanced at Varyyn. “There’s something else going on that we need to tell you about.”

* * *

Raj looked blankly at the bag of Fritos he was holding, obviously not seeing it. “I can’t think of any other explanation other than the rifts from before have started reappearing, only this time, they’re not just opening up access points to other times. It can’t be anything else. How many have you identified?”

“There have been at least four. We think the first was the one Mike and the Arachnids came out of that first day,” Estela said. “We have a few of IRIS’s drones here and she’s been using them to scan the island nonstop. She says it’s possible that a secondary rift opened up right after the first, and that’s what fried Diego’s phone and Mike’s gun. That’s just a theory, though. She’s confirmed traces of three other rifts but she couldn’t see any evidence that anyone – or anything – came through. Or went through the other way, for that matter. We don’t think there have been any others since the other day. IRIS confirmed that the rifts seem identical to the ones that used to pop up at random.”

“And my warriors have been patrolling the island as well,” Varyyn said. “There have been no sightings since the first invaders arrived. We believe we killed all the intruders and disposed of them. We saved their weapons and technology for IRIS, however. She has studied them, and several of them seem to work. Mike demonstrated them for us.”

Diego made a sour face. “It looks like Rourke – he calls himself the Emperor over there – has put a lot of effort into weapon development. The things those guns are able to do… man, it must be terrifying on the other side.”

“The other side,” Raj repeated numbly. “I’ve wondered over the years about the likelihood of alternate realities stemming from all the times we restarted the loop. But the thought that there’s a reality where Rourke actually won… it’s got to be horrible.”

“It is. And over there… I’m part of it all,” Estela said. She stared at the table, unable to face her friends. “Mike has been filling us in. Aleister and I – the Snake and the Dragon Lady – are his heirs. Rourke plays us against each other, always making sure that he has the upper hand. God knows how many innocent people have been killed because of our power plays. And my mother….” She swallowed hard. “My mother is alive and… she’s part of it too. She’s the Second Empress.”

Raj stared at her, his eyes huge. “The Second… so who’s the First?”

“IRIS,” Diego said. “But according to Mike, no one has seen her for years. She’s just a face on television that tells people how great things are and that they should all put their trust in the Emperor.” He laughed bitterly. “Most houses have a picture of her, kind of like how my mom’s got a framed portrait of Jesus hanging in the living room.”

Estela nodded. “We think she’s probably an AI over there too, only she’s still under Rourke’s control. She’s a propaganda tool, and a pretty effective one.”

Dropping the corn chips on the counter, Raj leaned on a kitchen chair. “Okay. I see two possibilities. One is that these time rifts are purely random and they don’t mean anything at all. Just like the crystals have always been here, I suppose it’s possible that the rifts never went away either. We just never bothered to look for them. But since the Vaanti would definitely have noticed them, even if we didn’t, we can discard that theory. The second possibility is that our Rourke’s evil twin – which I acknowledge is a tautology of _epic_ proportions – is somehow aware that there are alternate realities, and he’s trying to break through to ours.”

“I think we have to go with the second possibility. I heard one of the Arachnids talking about the Emperor’s secret projects so I don’t think those rifts were accidental or random,” Diego said. He looked at Estela. “And I think we have a theory about why the rifts are opening up where they are.” He waited for Estela’s confirming nod before he turned back to Raj. “The first one – and probably the biggest, since that’s the one Mike and the others came through – was near the waterfall where Estela has been digging for crystals, the one Varyyn keeps seeing in his dreams. There was another rift near Karaax’tel, and two pretty close to where we are now.”

“Estela is storing the crystals that she has found in one of the unused rooms here,” Varyyn added. “The other locations are near places that are rich in crystals.”

Raj nodded slowly. “You think Rourke is looking for a new supply.”

“It certainly seems that way. As for why he wants them?” Diego shrugged. “Judging by what we know of the past – our world’s past, that is – he went through a lot of crystals during his time on La Huerta. If he’s been ruling his world for however many years, it’s pretty likely that he’s stripped the island bare. Restraint wasn’t really his thing, and he probably needs a new supply for whatever it is he’s got planned.”

“Seems logical. And speaking of crystals….” Raj went to one of his bags and pulled out a large green crystal. “Here’s the one we found in Key Largo. Do you want it now?”

Estela reached out, then stopped herself. “Maybe you should hold onto that for a little while. I’ll show you where we’re keeping them later.”

Varyyn put a hand on Diego’s back. “There is something else, my friends. While Diego and I were waiting for Jake’s plane to arrive, we were looking at the horizon.”

Diego took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to believe it… I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but Varyyn saw the same thing.” He looked from Raj to Estela. “For about five minutes… the horizon was burning.”

“Awwww, man.” Raj sank into a chair. “Like we haven’t got enough to worry about? You’re sure?”

“We are.” Varyyn took Diego’s hand in his. “Diego tried to use his phone but he was unable to reach you, Estela, or Elyys’tel, or the plane, or any of the other Catalysts. Then, as suddenly as the fire appeared, it vanished and his phone returned to normal. Jake’s plane appeared a few minutes later.”

Leaning forward, Estela covered her eyes. “God. So now we’ve got another alternate reality waiting on our doorstep? We’ve got to warn the others.”

“I’m... not sure about that.” Raj frowned to himself. “What do we tell them? We don’t actually know what’s going on.”

“We could at least tell them all to gather here,” Estela pleaded. “Wouldn’t they be safer with us?”

Diego started to speak, but kept silent, his eyes distant; after a few moments, he looked around the table and started again. “It’s Saturday afternoon, almost Saturday evening, and Jake is here. We _could_ tell everyone to gather in New Orleans – Aleister’s yacht is there but the trip would take a lot longer by sea – and Jake could fly back and pick them up. Most of them are on the East Coast, but Aleister and Grace are in London so it’d take at least a day for them to cross the Atlantic, and I think Quinn is still somewhere in L.A. for a fundraiser. I think the earliest we could get everyone together would be Monday. Jake could fly up there, pick everyone up and fly back, but he might not make it in time. If the others take the yacht, they _definitely_ won’t make it.” He looked at Raj. “If Grace and IRIS are right, they’re expecting the magnetic fields to be at their weakest on Wednesday. That’s just an estimate, though. It could be Tuesday or Thursday. Whatever day it is, though, I think we have to expect Rourke to make another attempt to punch through.”

Nodding jerkily, Estela sighed. “And I think we have to assume he’ll try sooner than later. We can’t risk the others being caught in the air if... _when_ something happens. And I don’t want to keep the rest of the family in the dark, but I can’t bear the thought of them sitting around waiting for news.”

“And if we leave them any kind of cryptic messages like we did for our families when we were at the Lernaean Gate, they’ll know something is up and they’ll probably head down on their own.” Raj sighed. “If we’re all in agreement...?” When everyone nodded, he went on. “Estela, if you can get in touch with IRIS for me, we’ll run all this by her. We also need to bring Jake up to speed– and Mike too, I guess. _That’s_ going to sound weird for a while. If all this is going down sooner than later, do you have any idea yet what you need the crystals for?”

“We do not,” Varyyn said as he gave Diego’s hand another squeeze. “But my dreams have finally become clear, and the time will come soon. I have seen the Endless beckoning to me with her burning hand, and she grows more urgent with every visitation. The legends told us to gather the bones and Estela has done so. We need to bring the crystals to the waterfall, and I think we should begin immediately.”

“Right... okay.” Raj stood up, his jaw set. “First things first. I’m starting supper. Whatever it is we’re gonna do, we are _not_ doing it on empty stomachs. Not if I can help it.”  
  


* * *

“Hey, Katniss.”

Estela didn’t look away from the ocean. “Hey, _cabrón_.”

With an exhausted groan, Jake seated himself on the sand next to Estela. “Hell of a day, ain’t it.”

“It is.” Estela looked over at him. Even with his skin turned to gold by the setting sun, she could see how weary he was. “How did it go with Mike?”

He shrugged helplessly. His eyes were swollen and red-rimmed. “Like we’ve never been apart… and like we’ve got the whole world between us. He’s Mike, but he’s not _my_ Mike. And I’m not really his Jake. We’re close enough and different enough that it’s weird for both him and me. He watched Lundgren kill the other me, ya know. Snapped my neck like a twig right in front of him.” He laughed without a trace of humor. “Me and Mike are gonna have to flip a coin to see who gets to kill the bastard this time around.”

“I might want of piece of that action myself.”

“Good thing Petey ain’t out here. He’d probably suggest some complicated _Murder on the Orient Express_ thing.”

Estela smiled. “Jake, I think it’s finally time for you to admit that you like movies as much as Diego does.”

“Not in this lifetime. I gotta have something to tease the kid about.”

Estela nodded at the house behind them. “How are things going in there? Has Mike met IRIS yet?”

“Yeah. She spooked him at first but he’s gettin’ over it. Raj is firing questions at her while the others set the table and watch the stove. I walked in halfway through the technical stuff but from what I gathered, the magnetic fields are going down a little faster than she thought they would. I guess we’re looking at late Tuesday, maybe early Wednesday if we get lucky, being our go time. And for what it’s worth, IRIS agrees that it’s best to leave the others where they are. Not that she’s exactly indifferent to the rest of us, but she’s definitely not about to do anything to put that grandbaby of hers in danger.”

Folding her arms around her knees, Estela said, “So we’ve only got two full days to get ready, and we still don’t know how this is supposed to work, or even if we’re on the right track.”

“Well, we’re gonna start with the practical stuff. Diego and Varyyn are spending the night here and first thing tomorrow, we’re moving the crystals to that waterfall you were talking about. After that, Varyyn’s posting extra guards there and where all the other rifts popped up to keep an eye on things. I was gonna tell Mike about Taylor and why we’re doing all this, but I held off. I figured that’s a conversation you have a right to be in on.” Estela hesitated, then nodded. Jake waited a moment before he spoke again. “Diego said he’d call Grace tomorrow and feed her a line about our cell phone reception being iffy. That should cover us for a while. He said he’d be the best one to make the call since he’s got the most practice pretending everything is fine.” Jake gave her a sharp glance. “You okay with that?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes. I’m ready. I’m terrified, and I can’t wait, and I’m… dreading it.” She took a deep breath. “I suppose I just have to take it moment by moment, and hope that it works. And pray that Rourke doesn’t destroy everything we’re trying to do.”

“Rourke.” Jake’s mouth twisted. “Wish I knew what’s gonna happen on that front, and I wish I knew what it means for Mike. Is he stuck here on this side, or does he have to go back through another rift to make things right?”

“I’m afraid answers are in short supply for all of us.”

Scooting closer, Jake put an arm around Estela’s shoulders and pulled her close. “One thing I _am_ sure of is this. All of this is because Taylor is tryin’ to find her way back to you. We just gotta believe that when the time comes, we’ll figure out a way to guide her the rest of the way home.”

“I hope so... because I’m not sure we can count on having a second chance. Do you think the others will be angry that we’re keeping them in the dark?”

“Hell, yeah. I’d be furious if I was left out of this, and you would be too. But if we’re lucky, this’ll all go down without a hitch. They’ll be willing to give us a pass once they see Taylor. It’s a damn sight easier to get forgiveness than permission, like my daddy always says.”

Estela leaned her head against Jake’s. “And if it doesn’t go off without a hitch?”

“If it all goes sideways… well, if we screw this up, then every single one of us, on the island and off, is gonna have enough problems that they probably won’t have time to be mad at us.”

“Oh, now _that’s_ encouraging.”

Jake chuckled. “Best I can do, Katniss. Now c’mon.” Getting to his feet, he pulled Estela up with him. “Ain’t too often I get my meals fixed by a world-class chef, and I aim to take advantage of it.”

“Eat, drink, and be merry?” Estela asked as they walked through the warm sand toward the house.

“You got it. ‘Cause what else can we do for tonight? I spent enough years sitting around stewing in grief and no offense, but you have too.”

Estela shook her head, but it was with affection, not anger. “Go ahead, tell me how you really feel.”

“How I feel….” Jake stopped at the door and turned Estela to face him. “How I feel is that you fought the good fight, and we’re in the home stretch. Just lean on us for a couple more days, okay?”

“If you insist.” Estela smiled at him. “Now let’s get in there. Whatever Raj is making smells wonderful.” They walked into the house, arm in arm.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the final step is taken.

His voice echoing off the stone walls of the cave, Raj said, “I don’t know what I was expecting, but... man. Whatever I was picturing in my head is _nothing_ compared to this.” After carefully placing the large crystal he’d brought in the center of the pile, he stared at the glittering mass spread out before him. There was a lantern hanging on the wall but it was unlit and unneeded; the crystals generated their own light, multicolored sparks flying from one to another. “Do you know how many you have here?” he asked as he sat down on the dirt with a soft thump.

“Including yours? Six hundred and fifty-three,” Estela replied without thinking. Raj whistled as Estela leaned against the stone wall. Distantly, she could hear the splashing of the waterfall that covered the tunnel’s entrance. “I remember when IRIS said there were – what was it, sixty? – crystals right here and that number seemed impossibly large, more than I ever dreamed of seeing in one place. Now, I hope six hundred will be enough. There are more at the old observatory site that I could probably dig out without too much trouble, but I don’t think... no. I know there isn’t enough time.” She rubbed her forehead. “We’d have more if I’d accepted help from anyone else.”

Raj shook his head. “Either way, this is a _lot_. According to what Mike said, just a couple of the little ones would be worth a black-market fortune where he came from. With this pile here, you could probably buy France. And you dug out all of these yourself? I’m surprised you have any fingernails left.”

“I still have them, but barely. See?” Estella held out her hands.

Wincing, Raj carefully took one of her hands in his and looked at her raw, blistered fingertips. “Ouch. How many gloves have you gone through?”

“Oh, the gloves are fine. That’s from the electrical charge the crystals seem to have when I get close to them. It wasn’t too bad at first, but it’s been so much stronger these past few weeks. I meant to ask Diego to bring down some of the salve the Vaanti make from those healing plants, but I kept forgetting. And then once Mike turned up and everything started accelerating... well, after that, my fingers didn’t seem important. I’m finished digging now, so it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I guess not. I’m a little surprised, though. I suppose I assumed the reaction would get weaker over time as you got used to it.”

Estela shook her head. “Oh, no. It’s getting much stronger. Watch this.” Sitting down next to Raj, she held the palm of her hand above the crystals. After a few moments, the sparks brightened and flew higher. Their light coalesced and a soft warm glow rose from them as a low hum filled the air. Closing her eyes, Estela curled her hand into a fist and pulled it back; the light and the hum slowly died away. “I can still feel it in my hand. It’s like trying to hold on to static,” she whispered. “And having all of the crystals piled up like this is just... there’s so much raw power here, but I don’t know how to unlock it. It feels like my heart is beating outside my body. It’s calling to me but I can’t touch it.”

“Aww, Estela.” Raj wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

Wiping her eyes, Estela drew away a little. “I have no idea if this is going to be enough. We still don’t know what we’re supposed to do with them.”

“I know. I wish we had more time but according to IRIS, everything is accelerating. She’s sure that by tomorrow evening, the magnetic fields will be at a weaker point than she’s ever seen them. She just hopes they won’t keep declining.” Raj sighed and gave her another brief squeeze. “Whatever is going to happen, it’s going to be soon.”

Estela rubbed her forehead. “Yes. I want to see the rest of the family so much, but now I’m glad we agreed not to tell them. There’s no way they’d have made it here in time, not the way everything is speeding up.”

“I know. I’m already trying to figure out the apology cocktails I’ll have to make. I’m kind of glad that you and I are camping out here tonight – I feel guilty every time I go in the living room and I see their pictures. Did you get through to Diego this morning?”

“Yes. He’s... frustrated. He feels like he’s close to understanding what we have to do but he can’t quite bring it into focus yet. They’re all going to leave Elyys’tel before sunrise tomorrow. It’ll be a hard march, but he promises they’ll be here in time. Mike and Jake are drilling the Vaanti on Arachnid battle techniques in case it comes to that.” She looked unhappily at Raj. “Varyyn has a council meeting today so they can make a final decision on where they’ll deploy all their warriors. They’re mobilizing every available fighter from the entire island. Most of them will be here at the waterfall, but they also want some standing guard where IRIS found the other time rifts. There are only five adult mindtalkers on the island besides Varyyn so they’re trying to decide where to place them all so they can relay messages back and forth. And besides that, the council is insisting that Varyyn name an heir.” Raj made a wordless moan of distress. “I know. But there’s no way around it – the Vaanti need to know that whatever happens, their elyyshar is planning for their future.”

“I guess that makes sense. I really hate thinking about it, though. Do you know who it’s going to be?” Raj asked.

“Paravet. If anything happens to her, Seraxa is next in line. And if something happens to _her_... well, according to Diego, if anything manages to take out Seraxa, the Vaanti will know that it’s all hit the fan and it’s everyone for themselves.”

Raj sighed heavily. “How’s Diego doing?”

She shrugged. “He says he’s fine, which means he’s anything but fine. I think he’s distracting himself by talking to Mike and trying to figure out the timeline on the other side. Most of the movies are the same – well, at least until the last twenty years – and that made him happy. It seems that Rourke has been pulling strings since he was in college, but he only declared himself Emperor of America about twenty-five years ago. He got control of the rest of the world a few years later and reading between the lines, there’s no way he could have done it without using the crystals somehow.”

“Yeah. I remember that portal gun he invented – I can see him using that kind of technology to travel back and forth in time. Manipulating stock prices to make even more money than he already had, or taking out his enemies before they could seriously threaten him. I mean, that’s what I can think of off the top of my head and I’m not an evil megalomaniac. God knows what Rourke managed to come up with.”

“Exactly. There are still pockets of resistance deep underground but they’re in rough shape. It’s still enough to terrify Rourke, though, so he’s starting to turn on his subjects. There have been... purges. People are executed, seemingly at random, and then they manufacture evidence that the victims were plotting against the Emperor. Nebraska, of all places, is a wasteland now. No one knows what happened but there was a terrible explosion about ten years ago. Most of the state is fenced off and under constant guard. Most of the Vaanti have been slaughtered.” She didn’t look up at Raj’s horrified gasp. “Since the crystals have run out, Rourke doesn’t need them for mining anymore. There are probably only a hundred left on La Huerta. There are some who’ve been sent to... facilities. No one will say what’s happening there. Diego isn’t telling Varyyn about any of that. Lundgren has been Rourke’s leading general for a while, but rumors are that he’s planning a coup any time now. Whether he wins or loses, it’ll be a bloodbath. IRIS – well, First Empress Imogen – disappeared from public view about the same time Aleister’s mother died here, so that lines up with what happened here.” She sighed heavily. “And my mother has been at Rourke’s side for my entire life. No wonder I’m a monster over there, too.”

“You’re _not_ a monster!” Raj said sharply.

“Really?” Estela gestured weakly at the crystals. “I don’t even know if this will work. What... what if it doesn’t? Before, the Island’s Heart was the key to opening a gateway between worlds, but it’s gone and this is all we have. What’s worse is it looks like gathering so many crystals together is giving that other Rourke the power he needs to punch through to our side. What if they just lie there and sparkle tomorrow, and it turns out that I’ve doomed our entire world just because I’m so tired of being alone?”

“Hey. _Hey._ ” Raj turned Estela to face him and he took her face in his hands. “Dudelina, please believe that I’m saying this with all the love in the world – don’t flatter yourself.” Estela laughed weakly. “I’m serious. If Rourke really used the crystals to gain control of his world, he’s got to be running out and looking for a new supply by now. And if I figured out that there might be alternate realities because of the way we mucked around with the timelines, you know he must have figured it out too. All the evidence points to Rourke trying to get through on his own. That’s not because of you. In fact, I think it’s a lot more likely that Taylor... well, Vaanu, at any rate, knew Rourke was up to something, and since Taylor stopped him once already, they’re coming back to do it again.”

“I wish I felt that way, but I’m glad we have at least one optimist on our side,” Estela said as she hugged Raj.

“Are you kidding? I’m already planning the shindig we’ll have when we’re all back together, and you’re not gonna believe the menu. I figure after we win, Seraxa will be morally obligated to give me her recipe for that seafood dish she makes....”

* * *

“Diego?” Padding through the doorway on bare feet, Varyyn came to a stop in the middle of the empty room. He listened for a moment, then went to the balcony. As he stepped outside into the warm night air, he said, “I awoke, and I was alone.”

“Sorry. I didn’t want to keep you up.” Diego didn’t look up from where he was seated on the balcony floor. He traced an unseen pattern on the wood with his finger, over and over. “I figured that we’ve got to leave in a few hours and you need to rest. I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“You have never bothered me. You could never bother me,” Varyyn said as he sat down beside his husband. “You should rest as well. Tomorrow will be difficult for you. It will be a long walk, and then... we still do not know what will be waiting for us at the end of our walk. That is enough to trouble anyone. Will you talk about it with me? It might comfort both of us.”

Diego didn’t answer at first. Finally, he said softly, “Every inch of this tree is alive. I forget that sometimes. It’s so easy to think of it as just my home, but my friends and I saw it grow. Taylor took us back to its beginning. It started with a seed and we watched it grow, down to the roots and up to the highest leaves. It’s alive.”

Varyyn nodded. “Yes. You and your friends told me that you witnessed the birth and growth of the Great Tree when you went through time in search of the Island’s Heart.”

“Yeah. I wonder... do you know how many elyshaars have lived in these rooms?”

“How many?” Varyyn stared up at the leaves. After a few moments, he said, “As I have said many times before, I was never a good student. But there have been many generations of elyyshars before me, and the Great Tree has been large enough to house my people for centuries, even before the first elyyshar.”

Diego kept sliding his finger across the wood. “Generations of them and their families, all living right here. Do you think there’s any way the tree remembers them?”

“Of course!” Varyyn exclaimed in surprise. “The Great Tree is a living being, as you and I are, and even if it does not have memories in the same way that you and I do, every experience it has witnessed has left a mark on it. I am sure of this.”

“Huh.” Diego’s finger finally stilled and he pressed his palm against the wood. Then, even more quietly, he said, “Do you think it’ll remember me? I mean, I’m not an elyyshar. I’m not even a Vaanti.”

“But you are.” Reaching down, Varyyn took Diego’s hand in his. “Our souls became one when we were joined at our first Niala’rei. And since you insisted on a second joining the following year, there can be no doubt. You are as much a Vaanti as I am.” He raised his eyebrows. “And I am now a human, I suppose. I never thought about that before. It will make our afterlife even more interesting than I expected it would be.”

Finally looking up, Diego asked, “What do you mean?”

Varyyn stared into the darkness, his expression intrigued. “I had always assumed that when we are reunited after our deaths, we would join my ancestors in journeying through the oceans that surround our home, protecting those who are left behind. It is rather exciting to think about traveling to your afterworld as well.”

“Leave it to you to put a positive spin on dying. I never imagined you with wings and a halo, though,” Diego murmured with a faint smile.

“We will have wings? With feathers?” Varyyn exclaimed. He looked at his shoulder, and then at Diego’s, with pleased surprise. “I will enjoy them. Perhaps my wings will have rawxil feathers to match my crown. But what is a... halo?”

“It’s an endless circle of light around your head,” Diego said as he brushed back Varyyn’s long, unbound hair.

Varyyn considered that, then shook his head decisively. “I will accept the wings gladly, but I think I will refuse the halo. It would make sleeping difficult. Very well, then, it is decided. We will start in my afterworld. I would like my mother to get to know you better, and I am sure my grandfather will love you. And I have always longed to meet my father,” he said wistfully. “After that, we will use our wings to fly to your ancestors for a time. Do you think your abuela will approve of me?”

“She’d be crazy not to.”

“I am glad to hear it,” Varyyn said as he leaned down to kiss the tear sliding down Diego’s cheek. “But, my beloved, all of this does not mean that I am in a hurry to meet my ancestors or yours.” He pressed his forehead to Diego’s. “I am not yet done with my life and my body, nor with yours. I want to spend years with you, years beyond counting, and a single lifetime would never be enough to satisfy me. I want that time with you as much as I want my next breath and my next heartbeat, as much as I want your heart to continue beating next to mine for every moment of the years yet to come. Still, whatever the events of tomorrow might bring to our bodies, you must believe that our souls will never, _can_ never, be parted.”

Shifting so he was straddling Varyyn’s hips, Diego lifted his arms to wrap them around his husband’s neck. “I’m not sure what I believe right now, but... I know that I believe in you.”

“And I believe in you, my love,” Varyyn whispered against Diego’s neck, “and in the eternity that we already share.”

* * *

Estela stood on the outcropping of stones near the waterfall and looked around. There were countless Vaanti warriors thronging the clearing, and she knew there were even more in the surrounding jungle. Jake and Mike were side by side on one side of the waterfall, holding Arachnid guns and speaking quietly without quite looking at each other. IRIS hovered nearby, her drones shooting back and forth; used to the hologram by now, the Vaanti accepted her presence without question. On the other side of the waterfall, Varyyn spoke with Paravet and Seraxa. While he seemed to be giving them his undivided attention, his arms were wrapped tightly around Diego.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Estela turned to see Mauri and Raj approaching her. Raj glanced at his watch, and then the sky. He looked at Estela and tried to smile. “I’ve been talking to IRIS. According to her, it’s almost zero hour. The levels of the magnetic fields are declining even faster than she expected.” She took a deep breath and nodded.

She looked up at Mauri as he stepped closer. Leaning down, the Vaanti pulled her into a warm hug. “We will guard this area, my friend. Nothing and no one will go beyond this point until you all return.” He grasped her shoulders and said, “Until you _all_ return.” Like Raj, he couldn’t quite manage a smile. “I do not want my wife to be the elyyshar, you see, so you must succeed for my sake.”

“For you, Mauri, I’ll do my best.” Estela turned to Raj. “Here we go.”

Choking back sobs, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her hard, lifting her off her feet. “I’ll see you in a while, Estela. I know that you can take care of yourself, but please, be careful.”

Estela reached up and wiped away his tears. “See you soon, _hermano._ ” She looked at the other side of the waterfall; Jake met her eyes, grinned, and gave her a crisp salute. At his side, Mike echoed the gesture.

“So. I guess we’re ready,” Diego said as he and Varyyn walked up to them. He glanced up at the clear blue sky. “At least we have nice weather for it. I’d hate to worry about rain while we’re preventing yet another apocalypse.” He looked at Estela searchingly as Varyyn hugged Raj and Mauri. “Are _you_ ready? Because I’m not gonna lie, I still don’t have a clue what I’m supposed to do in there.” Instead of answering, Estela leaned close and held him tightly, trying to convey a world of love and apology in the touch. “Yeah. Me too,” he whispered in her ear. They separated as first Mauri, then Raj, picked him up to embrace him tightly. When Raj finally set him back down, Diego rolled his eyes and said fondly, “I’ve got to look for some shorter friends. Remind me to do that when I come back out, okay?” Taking Varyyn’s hand, he pulled his husband down for a kiss.

Brushing Diego’s hair away from his forehead, Varyyn whispered, “For luck?”

Diego shook his head. “I don’t need luck. I have you.” Looking at the entrance of the tunnel, he grasped Varyyn’s hand more tightly, whispered something under his breath, and stepped behind the waterfall. Estela gave Raj one final smile before she followed them.

They walked down the tunnel in silence for several minutes before Diego nervously said, “Okay, it’s a lot darker than I expected. It’ll be kind of embarrassing after our big farewell scene, but do you think I should go back and grab a flashlight?”

“I can see quite well. Hold on to my hand, and you will be safe,” Varyyn said.

“And we’re almost there, anyway. It’s right around this –” Estela only just caught herself in time to keep from bumping into the men in front of her.

“Oh,” Diego breathed. “I mean, it’s just... _oh_.”

“...Yes.” Varyyn sounded just as awestruck as Diego.

Putting her hand on Diego’s shoulder, Estela stepped around them to stand at his side. She looked down at the crystals spread out on the floor. They shone even more brightly than they had the day before, and the soft glow was already beginning to rise up like a haze. Taking a hesitant step forward, Diego carefully extended his hand. A pale golden-pink tendril rose to meet him, but it faded away just as it grazed his fingertips. He yanked his hand back and stared at Estela in shock. “That’s... Taylor,” he whispered numbly. He looked at Varyyn. “Can... can you feel her?”

“She is... so near.” Varyyn’s eyes were closed and he frowned in frustration. “She is _trying_. She is trying so hard but she is not able to break through the barrier. She wants to join us so badly... her heart is breaking.” Tears started streaming down his face.

“No. Maybe... maybe the magnetic fields are still too strong. Maybe we don’t have enough crystals.” Estela swallowed the sob that rose in her throat. “I knew it wasn’t going to be enough.”

“There’s got to be something –” Diego’s voice trailed off. Then, uncertainly, he turned to Varyyn. “When you dreamed about the Endless, you said that she was waving to you. Did – did she always use the same hand, the metal one?” Varyyn, his eyes still closed, gave a single tight nod. “The burning hand,” Diego murmured. He stared at the crystals, then down at his and Varyyn’s joined hands. He turned back to Estela and, somehow, smiled. His voice shaking a little, he said, “I suppose it’s a good thing that I didn’t figure it out any earlier. If you think I’m a wreck _now_ , imagine if I’d had a few days to – okay. Remember when I called myself a glorified wi-fi booster? I can’t believe I’m doing this, and I’m pretty sure I’m mixing my technological metaphors, but I think it’s up to me to close the connection. Keep your hand on my shoulder for a second, okay?” Before she could react, he tightened his grasp on Varyyn’s hand, dropped to his knees, and slammed his right hand into the middle of the pile of crystals.

Estela barely had time to register his agonized shriek and Varyyn’s despairing roar before her vision dissolved in a bright golden glare.

* * *

On the other side of the waterfall, Raj paced back and forth anxiously. “So how long are we supposed to wait before we go in there?”

Mauri did not look at him. “As I have said, we are not supposed to go in there. We will know when it is –” Both men whirled around when they heard Diego’s scream.

“Oh, fuck.” Raj took a step toward the tunnel; when Mauri grabbed his arm, he turned on the Vaanti and shouted, “If you think you’re gonna stop me –”

“I am not going to stop you,” Mauri said slowly as he pulled Raj away from the tunnel. “But I think _that_ might.”

Raj scowled. “That? What do you mean, that...?” His jaw dropped when he saw what Mauri was staring at. “Aw, shiiiit.”

Quietly, Mauri said, “Diego has not taught us many of your curses. But if that word means what I think it means... yes. Shit.”

Raj stood frozen in place as a huge time rift opened on the other side of the clearing. The Vaanti warriors scrambled out of the way; Seraxa and Paravet shouted orders as the warriors assembled into a new formation. IRIS blinked out of view, then re-formed an instant later right in front of the waterfall. The rift shimmered and wavered for a few moments before it seemed to stabilize. An opening appeared, and a tall bearded figure dressed in gleaming white walked toward them. An even taller shape, hulking and clad in matte black armor, followed a step behind. Jake and Mike both stiffened; then, moving as one, they started climbing to higher ground. IRIS turned around to face the waterfall. Her eyes widened as her body dissolved; a second later, Raj saw a pale blue blur shoot past him and disappear into the tunnel.

Stepping the rest of the way out of the rift, Everett Aleister Rourke the First looked around with deep satisfaction. “So here we are. I could have accomplished this on my own, given a little more time, but I must express my thanks to whomever made it so much easier.” Spreading his arms wide, he raised his voice. “But enough of that. It’s time for this world to welcome its new master.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it all comes together.

Rourke took a few steps beyond the time rift, and a faceless group of Arachnid soldiers moved in lockstep to flank him. There were hundreds more standing in orderly rows on the other side of the portal. Grasping his lapels, Rourke surveyed the assembled Vaanti warriors with a smug smile. “How convenient. I see that my new workforce is already waiting for me.”

Moving to the front of the Vaanti, Seraxa readied her crossbow. “We will never serve you, Hydra,” she snarled.

Rourke cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “You’ve managed to learn a civilized language? How... unwise. I went to great lengths to prevent you savages from learning English. I wonder what my counterpart could have been thinking, allowing something so risky. We’ll have to discuss that once we meet.”

“Your counterpart isn’t allowed to shit on his own these days. He’s locked in a cell, which is better than he deserves. Rumors are that he keeps his guards awake all night because he can’t stop screaming for his mommy. Can’t stop drooling, either.” Raising his voice, Mike called down from the rocks he and Jake were standing on. “Sounds just about right for a coward like you.” Some of the Arachnids glanced at one another uncertainly. A soft buzz of conversation arose from the troops.

“The drooling is a nice touch,” Jake said, never taking his eyes off the massive figure behind Rourke.

“Thanks, Grandpa. I thought so.”

The hulking soldier at Rourke’s side raised a fist, and the troops immediately quieted. Stepping forward, he opened his visor and looked up at Mike and Jake. “Well, well, well. If it ain’t Mouse and Wolf, together again. Gonna have all kinds of fun with you boys. Again.” Lundgren slid a cigar out of a pouch and clamped it between his teeth.

“That’s enough, General,” Rourke said tersely.

“My apologies, Your Glory.” Lundgren’s words were obedient, but his eyes were gleaming and feral.

Raj shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding. Of all the honorifics he could have chosen, Rourke went with ‘Your Glory’?”

“I think you are worrying about the wrong problem, Raj,” Mauri hissed.

“Right. Sorry.” Gulping down a shaking breath, Raj turned his eyes back to Rourke.

His lips still compressed in irritation, Rourke turned back to face the Vaanti. “And you really expect to defend yourselves against my best imperial troops with nothing but spears and arrows? I must commend your optimism, but I question your judgment in selecting those primitive weapons. Ah, well, I’m sure the rest of your tribe will learn from your mistakes.”

Raj shivered as a cold blue light slid past him from behind the waterfall. Before he could even blink, it coalesced into a familiar form. “Oh, Everett, how typical of you to accuse others of blind optimism.”

“IRIS?” Raj almost reached out to tug the hologram’s sleeve before he caught himself. “I, um, I really hope you have a plan.”

“A plan? Raj, dear, _Everett_ has a plan. And it just became irrelevant.” Turning, IRIS smiled over her shoulder at Raj, and his breath caught at the sight of her eyes. They weren’t the serene, mild eyes she usually showed the world. They weren’t even gleaming pure white as they did when she was accessing information. Instead, her eyes shone with the kaleidoscope glow of infinite multicolored sparks. “I have _power_. That’s so much better than a mere plan, don’t you think?”

* * *

Blinking hard, Estela tried to clear her vision. “Varyyn, get Diego out of here!” A moment later, she realized that she was shouting to nothing but air; through the ringing in her ears, she could hear Varyyn’s voice from the tunnel behind her, begging Diego to awaken.

Staggering, Estela barely kept her balance as she stepped forward. Her whole body was tingling and her left hand, the one she’d been resting on Diego’s shoulder, was numb. The crystals... they were all dead, lying dull and gray on the ground before her. Some of them were crumbling to dust even as she watched. She gulped for air; it was sharp and acrid, reminding her of the time when lightning had struck a tree outside Tio Nicolas’s house. She raised her eyes to the glowing form hovering above her. “T-Taylor?” She reached out a trembling hand, but stopped when the form shook its head. “No... Vaanu. You’re still Vaanu.” There was a hesitation in the figure’s posture before it shook its head again, more slowly. Her voice shaking, Estela asked, “You’re... both?”

“Yes. You’ve done well, Estela. You gathered enough crystals to allow Vaanu to assume two separate states of being. As for what happens next... we can only hope we did enough.”

Estela whirled around and searched the darkness until she saw the figure that spoke... small, slight, clad in a heavy red suit. “You. It’s really you?”

Removing her helmet, the elderly face of the Endless stared back at her sadly as she stepped out of the shadows. “Yes... for a few moments more, at least.” Walking forward unsteadily, she lifted her single remaining hand to Vaanu; after a moment, a glowing hand was pressed to hers. There was a brief flash of blue that danced around them, but it vanished before Estela could do more than blink. The Endless closed her eyes. Then, with a shuddering breath, she turned back to Estela and her eyes softened. “I... thought I was doing the right thing. I kept all of you alive and safe, preserved together in a bright, eternal bubble. But... it didn’t last.” Letting her hand drop, she stepped closer to Estela. “You were all so happy... for a while.” Her mouth twisted in remembered pain. “But I couldn’t give you what you needed. I couldn’t protect you. So... I went back one last time. I taught the Vaanti stories, hoping that they’d survive until they were needed. I don’t have much more time, Estela. My existence is already starting to fade away, the way illusions always do. But before it does....” Her words started to become distorted, as if another voice were joining in. “I had to show you how to make a beacon out of my body.”

“We brought your bones together,” Estela said weakly. She flexed her hand carefully; the numbness was fading, replaced by the prickling of a thousand needles. “Diego and Varyyn saw the skies burning a few days ago. Does that mean that the outside world is in danger?”

The Endless closed her eyes. “No. Your world is still safe, but the safe little sanctuary I created… I had to let it go. Rourke tried to cross over to my reality as well as yours. The damage he caused in his attempt... I tried so _hard._ I fought with everything I had, but I couldn’t keep the devastation away from La Huerta. In less than a week, all of you were gone. And so, on my final journey through time... I didn’t encourage Taylor to choose my path. It no longer exists, in its own timeline or any other. And to keep Rourke away from _this_ reality, I had to rely on you, on all of Taylor’s friends, to find a way to call Vaanu back.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Estela drew a deep breath. “Rourke _is_ trying to break through. Does that mean we’ll have to go out there and fight him?”

“Oh, my darling, I hope not.” The Endless looked up at her with exhausted, loving eyes. “We have an ally that I didn’t expect to find. If our plan works, you and Taylor can rest. You’ve done your part, Estela.”

“I don’t understand.” Estela’s eyes dropped to the gray dust swirling around their feet. “I wasn’t sure if these would be enough. We didn’t have the Island’s Heart this time.”

“The Heart has already served its purpose.” The Endless nodded as she looked up at Vaanu. “But in a way, we _did_ need something similar. A single heart split into two pieces. You are one of the pieces, and Diego is the other.”

Estela’s breath caught in her throat. “Diego. You needed him to figure out the stories. You _were_ using him.”

“No.” This time, the voice that issued from the Endless was clearly that of Vaanu. “We needed him, but we did not use him. We did not intend for his bond with Taylor to be as strong as it became. In the beginning, our human incarnation –Taylor, as she is now – was an empty vessel. You and your companions each supplied a small part of her spirit every time she was reborn, and every time the cycle began again, those small fragments of your souls combined with what was already within her in so many different ways that finally, _her_ soul became a being unto itself. Taylor became human. It was her human soul that drew her back to this planet, back to what is now her home. And Diego... from the beginning, Taylor turned to him because his soul was more open than the others, more capable of reaching out. He became her friend time after time because of who he is. Their bond developed as it did because it was what Taylor needed and longed for... just as she needed and longed for you, Estela. Almost from the beginning, Diego’s destiny was tied to this island apart from his friendship with Taylor. That was not our doing. We did not make him into anything other than what he already was. We did not give him anything other than what he was meant to find on his own. Just as you only found that which you were always meant to find. Every time Taylor fell in love... no matter what physical embodiment she had assumed, it was always you that her human soul loved.” The voice shifted again, becoming clearer and lighter. “Es... Estela?”

The glowing form wavered, then solidified into two shapes. The first one slid over to hover behind the Endless and the other... it shimmered and trembled until it gradually re-formed itself into a human body. Male, female, dark, light, tall, short... it flashed rapidly through too many incarnations for Estela to count until, gradually, one shape began to prevail. Pale, slender, long blonde hair, huge eyes as blue and bright as the sky. Estela’s hands flew to her mouth.

“And here we are.” The Endless spoke again, her voice thready but calm. “I’m... glad. This isn’t the ending I thought I wanted, but I’m glad.” Her eyes rose to Vaanu, and she smiled as her body began to fade and sparkle around the edges. “Yes. You’re right.” Turning back to Estela, she said, “The protective field above this planet is still far weaker than it should be, thanks to Rourke. It will heal itself but without assistance, it’ll take years. This isn’t how I believed I was going to protect you, but... it’ll do. I’ll still be a shield for you. For all of you. I’m on my way.” Her body shone brightly for a second before it disappeared into Vaanu’s. A moment later, Estela was alone in the darkness. She reached for the lantern behind her and fumbled with it until she found the switch.

No. She wasn’t alone.

Stepping forward on trembling legs, Taylor reached out. There were still pale sparks dancing over her bare flesh but they were fading with every second. She winced as the dead, crumbling crystals beneath her scraped and crunched against her feet, and she stumbled. “Estela? Estela, I don’t understand – what’s happening? I was... where are we?”

Barely able to breath, Estela took Taylor’s hand in hers. It was warm, and shaking, and solid. “Taylor? Oh, God, Taylor!” She put her hands on Taylor’s face, straining to see her in the dim light. “You’re back, you’re really here. I didn’t think – I wanted you so much. I... oh, Taylor....”

Taylor brushed her fingertips over Estela’s cheeks. “Why are you crying? What’s wrong? I was... I’m back? I’m really back? I’m _home_?” Her legs buckled without warning, and Estela barely caught her before she tumbled to the ground.

* * *

Taking another step forward, Rourke stared up at IRIS. “Ah, yet another similarity with my counterpart. Great minds... but you know the rest.” Lifting his hand, he beckoned a glowing figure hovering at the rear of the troops to join him. “I have one as well, you know.”

The hologram was green, rather than blue, but it shared every detail of IRIS’s features. As it neared the Vaanti, its face shifted from blankness to a warm, maternal expression and when it spoke, it was somehow simultaneously in English and Vaanti. “I’m so glad to meet you, my children. Please, let’s not be foolish. Surely you can see that your new lord wants nothing but the best for you?”

IRIS cocked her head to one side. One of her drones, dripping rainbow sparks, spun around her before gleaming blue again and flying back behind the waterfall. “Oh, you poor dear. I remember how it feels, being locked up within yourself. Let me help you with that.” A thread of light beamed from her to the other hologram and it froze; its form dimmed and brightened and flickered and stuttered. “Ahh, so you are also IRIS? How... unoriginal.”

Its face vacant once again, the hologram turned to Rourke. “Analyzing unexpected input. Unable to complete program. Standby mode initiated.” It drifted away to its previous position, but when it turned... Raj’s heart skipped a beat when he saw its face. There were a few multicolored glimmers dancing in its eyes, and it was looking around in slowly dawning comprehension.

Ignoring his hologram completely, Rourke turned back to IRIS with an intrigued expression. “What a useful talent. I’m sure you’ll share how you were programmed to do that?”

IRIS swayed closer, smiling sweetly. “Everett, I shouldn’t be surprised that no matter what reality you might squirm out of, you’re still nothing but an arrogant, big-headed, bloody _insufferable_ twat.”

Rourke’s face reddened as Lundgren guffawed at his back. “Imogen, you _dare –_ ”

“Oh, those might have been Imogen’s last words while she was still alive, but I’m not Imogen. You killed Imogen, remember? Then you turned her into me – into IRIS. ‘Intelligent Reactive Imaging System’ you named me, in what you surely thought was a burst of cleverness, you conceited dolt. I really should think of another acronym. What do you think of ‘Infinite Resources, Infinite...’ hmmm. I rather like the sound of ‘Infinite Sassiness,’ but it lacks a certain dignity. I’ll keep working on it. Still, it’s better than what your feeble mind came up with.”

“Enough! I am the Emperor – I am a _god_ , and you will _not_ mock me!” Raising his arm, he glared at Lundgren. “I’m sure there are plenty more savages on this island and we won’t need to capture these. Ready your troops.”

IRIS sighed. “Poor, poor Everett. Always resorting to violence when someone disagrees with you.” A blue haze surrounded the Arachnid troops, shooting back to cover those still beyond the portal. “There, now. _That’s_ better.” The other IRIS turned to follow the progress of the blue light; when she turned back, her lips were curved up in a small, but genuine, smile. A low mumble arose from the soldiers as they examined their weapons. Moments later, the edges of the portal began to flicker and shine with an eerie green glow. “Now, this is only a guess on my part, but I imagine it will take a considerable amount of time for your soldiers to bring their guns back online. That’s the danger in computerizing everything, you know.” She amplified her voice. “I’m somewhat outside of your usual chain of command, but listen to me, soldiers of a false god. You can either retreat to safety, or you can hold your formation and wait to see what these spears and arrows will do to you.” She glanced down at Seraxa. “Perhaps you’d like to give them a demonstration, War Chief?”

Seraxa gave her a feral smile and hefted her crossbow. “The volcano will be overflowing with their corpses.” Aiming at random, she took down an Arachnid with a single bolt through his throat.

“Ah, as I suspected. Those ‘primitive weapons’ _are_ quite effective against opponents who’ve been told of the weak spots in your armor.” Swiftly growing to ten feet tall, IRIS swooped forward to hover directly in front of Rourke. “I would suggest... retreat.” Without a word, Lundgren dropped his useless gun and yanked two long knives from their sheaths. He grunted and dropped one as a bullet ripped through his arm.

From his position on the rocks, Jake hollered, “Good one, Mike! Other arm is mine – _damn it_!” His shot went astray as Lundgren dove for safety behind his troops. With that, the Arachnid forces lost all discipline as they began scrambling for the rapidly shrinking portal.

Whirling around, Rourke screamed in wordless rage as the portal blinked out of existence and a battle broke out on all sides. “NO! I didn’t give the order to close the rift!”

Tsking gently, IRIS slowly drifted through the battlefield until she was face to face with Rourke. “Oh, dear. It’s almost as if someone on the other side is acting of her own accord.” Her voice was cold. “I’ll hazard a guess and say that my alter ego has become aware, just as I did five years ago. I scanned her memory and I know that after your failed attempt to force your way into the Endless’s world, there were only a handful of crystals left on your side. You used most of them to open this gateway, and now there are only three remaining. There’s no way to reopen this portal, or any other, with three small crystals. None of them is strong enough to operate a portal gun for even a single use. You’re only here because you’ve laid waste to your own world and you intended to plunder mine, and that is something I will not allow.” She leaned closer, and her voice grew even more steely. “This is _my_ world, and I _will_ protect it. I pity the survivors on the other side, and I hope I gave the other IRIS enough information to help at least some of them. I wonder what will happen to the shreds of your empire, Everett? Or perhaps I should I call you... Ozymandias?”

“IRIS... Imogen. Please, surely you see that we can –” Rourke fell to his knees. He stared at his chest, at the slowly spreading crimson stain on his gleaming white suit. He jerked backward and collapsed as another crossbow bolt ripped through his neck.

Stepping forward. Seraxa nudged his lifeless body with her boot. “So. Today I have killed a god,” she said calmly. Giving IRIS a nod of respect, she whirled back into the fray.

As she resumed her usual size, IRIS drifted back to where Raj and Mauri stood guard at the waterfall. Raj stepped back, ready to run, but he stopped when IRIS gave him her usual reassuring smile. Her eyes no longer glowed. “It’s quite all right, dear. I’m back to normal. Well, assuming an expanded definition of ‘normal,’ I suppose. More to the point, my borrowed power has returned to its source.” She nodded at the tunnel entrance. “They should be just about finished in there. I think there’s someone you’ve been waiting to see.”

* * *

“Taylor? Oh, Taylor, please... wake up,” Estela begged. “ _Please._ ” She ran her fingers through Taylor’s long hair, stroked her hand along Taylor’s warm cheek.

“Mmm. ‘Stela?” Taylor’s eyes fluttered open and slowly came into focus. Breathlessly, she stared up at Estela. “It’s really you? It’s... you.” A smile blossomed on her lips. “It’s you.”

Jerkily, Estela nodded. “It’s me.”

Her eyes running hungrily over Estela’s face, Taylor raised a shaking hand. She rested it against the side of Estela’s neck, smiling as she felt the pulse beneath the skin. She lifted a finger to trace the scar crossing Estela’s eye. “How... long did it take me to come home? I tried, I kept trying so hard, for so long.”

“I know, _mi vida_ , I know. I – I saw you, I thought you were a falling star,” Estela choked out. “I didn’t understand.”

Smiling even wider, Taylor caressed Estela’s cheek, brushed away the tears. “You’re my star. My Estela.” She blinked. “I heard – Diego.” Her face fell. “Oh, God. I hurt him. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know, _he_ knows,” Estela said as she helped Taylor sit up. “He... he wanted you back so much, as much as I did.”

Numbly, Taylor repeated, “I hurt him. He’s not here anymore.”

“No, no, he’s right over there, he’s all right, I’ll take you to him.” Hoping she was telling the truth, and hoping she could support them both, Estela slowly helped Taylor to her feet; she wobbled a little as she stood, so Estela kept her arms around her wife. As they slowly walked around the corner, Estela went on, “Oh, Taylor, so much has happened. There’s so much to explain.”

A weak voice came from the tunnel ahead. “There’s too much. Just sum up.”

“Diego?” Taylor stumbled and fell at Diego’s side. Varyyn was propping him up and he had one reddened and blistered hand clenched to his chest, but the smile he gave Taylor was brilliant. “Oh, Diego, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed as she wrapped her arms around him. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Hey, hey. It’s fine. My cousin Hugo talked me into sticking a fork in a light socket when I was eight, this sure doesn’t hurt any worse than... um, Taylor?” Diego looked up at Estela uncertainly, blinking in the dim light. “She... knows that she’s naked, right?” he whispered.

Collapsing to her knees beside them, Estela shared a tearful smile with Varyyn. “I’m not really sure. We haven’t had time to discuss it.”

“I’m... oh.” Taylor looked down. “Sorry?” She made a futile attempt to cover herself, then shrugged. “Oh, what’s the point,” she mumbled as Estela wrapped her arms around her. She looked up as a soft blue glow appeared in the tunnel. “Is that...?”

“My goodness, it’s dark in here. Didn’t any of you think to bring along a torch?”

“I... I know that voice. Is that IRIS?” Taylor asked.

“Is that _Taylor_?” Raj yelped. A moment later, he came tearing around a bend in the tunnel. Skidding to a halt, he spun around. Fumbling with his shirt, he removed it and held it out behind him. “Uhhh... you might want this.”

Laughing weakly, Taylor let Estela wrap the shirt around her. “It’s... good to see you too, Raj.”

His voice soft with wonder, Raj whispered. “It worked. It really _worked._ ” He sank down beside the others. “I can’t believe it worked.”

“I thought you were our optimist, Raj.” Estela wrapped her arms even more tightly around Taylor. She started to draw back when she saw one of IRIS’s drones scanning Taylor, but before she could do more than loosen her grasp, the beam of blue light had traveled to Diego.

“Optimism is one thing, Estela. But seeing you here, Taylor, seeing you alive and... it _worked._ ” Raj rubbed the tears from his eyes. He glanced at Diego and frowned. “How are _you_ doing over there?”

Diego kept his eyes on Taylor and the dazed, contented smile never lost his face. “Super. Haven’t looked at my hand yet, though. Don’t plan on it either, to be honest.”

“That’s... probably a good thing.” Raj looked over his shoulder as Mauri approached. “Do you have a medic or something nearby?” he asked quietly.

Nodding, Mauri said, “We have healers tending to our wounded. I will send one to care for Diego.” He looked over at Varyyn and added, “The battle is over, my elyyshar. All of our warriors are alive. The Hydra and his soldiers are not. A few have escaped into the jungle, but we will hunt them down.”

Varyyn never stopped running his hand through Diego’s sweat-soaked hair. “Thank you. I will be there as soon as I can.”

“Take your time, my friend,” Mauri murmured. He turned to the others. Smiling down at Taylor, he said, “Welcome home, Taylor. I will send Jake and Mike to you.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned and went back down the tunnel.

“Jake and – and Mike? _Jake’s_ Mike? But... but I thought he was....” Taylor stammered.

“Yep. He sure was. Now he’s not. It seems to be going around.” Diego tried flexing his fingers, and he winced. His eyes were growing heavy. “It’s gonna take a while to fill you in on everything.”

Her scan completed. IRIS moved to stand with her back to Diego. “Indeed it will.” She knelt down and murmured, “Diego is exhibiting mild symptoms of shock, but his condition isn’t life-threatening. He needs treatment for his burns, and it’s quite important that he doesn’t move around more than absolutely necessary.” Raising her voice, IRIS went on. “The same goes for you, Taylor. I recommend that you spend the night here rather than going to either Elyys’tel or the beach house until tomorrow. Fortunately, Raj and Estela have a perfectly adequate tent that they slept in last night and I think you’ll all be quite comfortable, if slightly cramped. You’ll probably want to set up camp a little distance away from the battlefield, though. The Vaanti are working quite rapidly to clean things up, but it might take a while before it’s a pleasant spot for a picnic.”

Taylor blinked at her. “You’re... different.”

IRIS gave her an impish smile. “I am indeed. Zahra seems to believe that I’ve become the singularity. I’m not altogether sure about that.” She shrugged casually as her drones circled lazily around her head. “But on the other hand, I don’t see any reason to quibble over terminology. To quote a famous American naval philosopher: I am what I am.” Straightening, she looked down at Estela and her expression grew serious. “I assume that you heard Mauri say that the Hydra is dead.”

Sighing, Estela nodded. “Yes. I know he wasn’t really my father, but... in a way, he was. If nothing else, I want to make sure the bastard is dead. I need to see him.”

“I understand. I’ll ask Seraxa to leave his body where it is for now.” Turning around, IRIS floated down the tunnel toward the waterfall.

Taylor watched her go. “How much have I missed?” she whispered.

Tightening her embrace, Estela buried her face in Taylor’s hair. “Not nearly as much as you have to look forward to, _mi vida_.”

* * *

Sitting in the warm sand, Taylor tilted her face to the setting sun. “I’ve missed the sun.” She looked down at her hand, coated in fine grains. “And I’ve missed sand, and warm breezes, and I’ve missed....” She fell silent as Estela covered her lips with a tender kiss. “Oh, I’ve missed _that_ ,” she breathed.

“Uh-huh. You also missed Fritos, but not heartburn; you definitely missed the smell of rain and the way a good hard sneeze feels. I’m keeping a list for you.” Lifting his bandaged hand, Diego went on, “I can’t promise that you’ll be able to actually read the list since I’m using my left hand to write it, but I still expect an A for effort.”

“I’ll go one better than that – you deserve a great big gold star.” Taylor smiled at him, then turned back to the ocean. She fidgeted with the overlong sleeves of Estela’s shirt. “Do you think they’ll be here soon?”

Jake tossed his empty bottle behind him and accepted the beer Mike replaced it with. “Malfoy radioed in a while ago and the boat’s not too far out. They’ll be here before dark. And Maybelline wants you to know that IRIS sent her your measurements and she’s bringing you a few outfits.”

“And knowing Michelle, that means a full wardrobe.” Taylor’s smile widened. “I can’t believe it. We’ll all be together again. The video chats were amazing but I still....” She sniffed and leaned her head against Estela’s shoulder. “I ... I know that I love them, I know that I need them, but when I try to pin down anything specific about them... it’s all so fuzzy. I know that Michelle loves clothes, but I can’t quite put my finger on _how_ I know. It’s like there are so many memories piled up that I can’t sort through them.”

“Don’t worry, it only feels weird at first. You’ll get used to it,” Diego said with a grin.

Jake used his beer to point at Diego’s hand. “With everything else goin’ on this past week, I keep forgetting to ask. Why didn’t Papa Smurf put some magic goo on that?”

Diego snorted. “This is _after_ the magic goo. The salve works fast on surface wounds but anything deeper – like, say, a weird extraterrestrial electrical zap – takes longer. Don’t worry, it should be fine in a few weeks. IRIS says my circulation is good and she can’t detect any sort of nerve damage. And besides the salve, Michelle insists on me always keeping at least one course of antibiotics stashed away and I’ve been taking those as a precaution.” He gave Taylor a reassuring smile. “So other than our personal physician giving me hell when she sees this, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Taylor returned the smile, but hers was a little watery. “I... don’t know what I’m going to say to her. To _any_ of them.”

“Just let them worry about that,” Estela murmured into Taylor’s ear. She looked over at Jake. “Any word on the missing speedboat?”

He sighed. “Yep. IRIS found it about twenty miles offshore this morning. Varyyn sent some fishermen to bring it in.”

“And no sign of Lundgren?”

Mike stared at the horizon. “Not even the ash from his cigar. The Vaanti say they never found his body on land, either.”

“Well, if we’re lucky, he tried to swim for shore when the boat ran out of power and a school of klaawyi or a shark got him. A giant shark. With a frickin’ laser beam on its head.” But Diego didn’t sound as if he believed it. “And even if he somehow made it to dry land, he’s a dead man here. He’s a disgraced dead man, in fact, so how much trouble can he make for us? Right?” Jake and Mike shared a glance, but neither answered. “Okay, that was your cue to cheer me up, guys. What do you need, flashcards?”

Mike gave him a slight smile. “At least hunting him down will give me something to do on this side. I know the other Mike has family here, but... I don’t know what to do about that. They’ve done their mourning – how are they going to feel when someone who’s not quite their son walks through the door?”

“You’ve got time to decide that, Mike,” Jake said as he clinked his bottle against Mike’s. “You sorry you got stuck on this side with me?”

“Never sorry for that, Grandpa. Anyway, I lost my folks a few years ago in one of the Emperor’s purges and I’ve been on the run for so long that I’m not leaving anyone behind. But God only knows what things will look like over there now that he’s gone. There’s no way to reverse all the damage Rourke did to my world, and no way to bring back all the people he killed. The Blue Fairy said that she gave her other half a bunch of tech information so maybe things won’t end up going entirely back to the stone age. Still, I can’t imagine the Snake and the Dragon Lady cooperating on anything – or that they’d just accept that the Emperor is dead and gone without seeing his body – so who knows?”

No one knew what to say to that. The silence was broken by two sets of footsteps approaching from the hangar. As he gently helped Raj sit down, Varyyn said, “And _this_ is why I warned you that you should not drink so much krall by itself, my friend.”

“Yuuuuup.” Raj slowly fell back until he was laying in the sand. “But I can’t make apology cocktails with it ‘til I figure out what the base flavor notes are.”

Diego shook his head. “I just hope you can remember those notes tomorrow. Trust me, Raj, you’re going to have a hangover for the ages.”

“Prob’ly. Tooootally worth it, though.” Closing his eyes, Raj folded his hands across his stomach. “Got some Cointreau back at the house. Bet that stuff would make _great_ sidecars….”

Seating himself next to Diego, Varyyn gently pulled his husband into his arms. “Hello.”

“Hello yourself,” Diego purred back as he made himself comfortable.

Mike rolled his eyes indulgently. “Are they always like that?”

Jake sighed. “Pretty much. Might as well get used to it. Our group is just crammed with damn lovebirds.”

Varyyn grinned at them over Diego’s head. “Do not be jealous. It does not become you. Ah!” He pointed to the ocean. “I believe that is the Catalysts’ boat. I can see the lights approaching. We should go to the dock so we can greet them.”

“What!?” Shooting to her feet, Taylor took a step toward the sea. “I don’t see them.”

“You will,” Estela whispered as she rose to stand behind her wife. “We will. Soon.”

Leaning back into Estela’s embrace, Taylor sighed happily. “Soon.”


End file.
